wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Evangelization and social justice belong together, says WCC representative

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>World Council of Churches - News

EVANGELIZATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE BELONG TOGETHER, SAYS WCC

>REPRESENTATIVE

>For immediate release: 05 June 2010

The need to keep together evangelism and the quest for social justice
was highlighted by a representative of an ecumenical mission body  speaking
at an international church conference in Edinburgh on 3 June.
Bishop Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, from India, voiced a “growing  concern
that the prophetic voice [of the church] has been gradually diminishing  in
ecumenical circles including the World Council of Churches (WCC)” .
Coorilos is the moderator of the WCC's Commission on World Mission  and
Evangelism.
Speaking at the 2-6 June Edinburgh 2010 Conference, Coorilos said  that “a
false dichotomy between evangelical and ecumenical strands [of
Christianity] is irrelevant”. However, he warned that “at tempts at
widening the ecumenical umbrella” should not dilute the  “prophetic
dimensions of mission”. “Passion for evangelism  and quest for social
justice should be held together”, he said.
The Edinburgh 2010 international gathering commemorates the hundredth
anniversary of the landmark 1910 World Mission Conference which  took place
in the same city and is widely considered the symbolic starting  point of
the modern ecumenical movement. Some 300 delegates from over 60  countries
and virtually all Christian traditions are attending the event.
“I sense an obvious lack of courage and commitment on the  part of the
global church to address issues of global justice – social,  economic and
ecological justice – and religious pluralism”, said  Coorilos. He was
responding to a keynote speech delivered by Professor Dana Robert,  from
the  Boston University School of Theology in the USA.
Coorilos agreed with Robert that the role played by colonialism  in 1910 is
today played by economic globalization. This is characterized by
neocolonialism, systemic injustice and violence, a growing globalization
of poverty, and the social and economic marginalization of people  and
exploitation of mother earth.
In a context such as this, “mission as a quest for justice  is not simply
an option but a mandate”, Coorilos said. Today, “we  are challenged by
Jesus Christ to confront systemic demons and satanic forces that  express
themselves in the guise of economic globalization, casteism, racism,
patriarchy, ecocide and so on”, he added. “Mission  in this context is
about calling them by name and casting them out.”
Giving some examples of issues that Christian “mission as  contestation”
needs to address, Coorilos mentioned “the continuing aggression  of the
State of Israel to the people and land of Palestine”, and  the “islands
and peoples that are going to simply disappear due to climate change�� �.
In seeking a renewed understanding of Christian mission for the  world in
the 21st century, “Edinburgh 2010 is yet another opportunity  to discover
anew the grace and power of God for us, the Church and for the whole
created order”, Coorilos concluded.
The Edinburgh 2010 conference gathers with the theme "Witnessing  to Christ
today" and is hosted by the School of Divinity at the University   of
Edinburgh. The WCC supports its organization, together with partners  in
the ecumenical movement, within and beyond the fellowship of WCC  member
churches.
The wide spectrum of churches, denominations and mission traditions  united
around the Edinburgh 2010 project makes it one of the most representative
of the diversity of world Christianity today. This spectrum includes
Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh  Day
Adventist, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Independent
traditions.
The conference will end on Sunday, 6 June, when participants will  join
members of the local churches and gather at the 1910 Assembly Hall  for "a
significant celebration", the organizers have announced.
The WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism is to meet  in
Edinburgh following the centennial conference on 7-9 June. The commission
is composed of some 25 members, who represent WCC member churches,  mission
bodies and representatives of 'wider ecumenism'. Roman Catholics,
evangelicals and Pentecostals are full members of the commission  and
participate in all its activities.

Edinburgh2010 website (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=fe 
27a9b88bfb45c04667 )
More news (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=4b27f7202d4d41 96cf8a
)
Photos (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=0f071aeddb83b1c87 415 )

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,  witness and 
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship  of churches 
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560  million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the  Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse  Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.