WCC NEWS: More international collaboration in theological education

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World Council of Churches - News

MORE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION

For immediate release: 20 April 2011

Participants at a recent consultation on theological education in the
United Kingdom have called for comprehensive Christian leadership
development of both lay and ordained men and women in the church.

Theological education is an organic part of Christian mission and thus
presents a common challenge to all churches, according to the group of 25
representatives from international and local institutions involved in
theological education, mission and scholarship agencies and regional
ecumenical organizations.

The consultation, held from 6 to 9 April in Birmingham, England, was hosted
jointly by the World Council of Churches (WCC), through its Ecumenical
Theological Education (ETE) programme, and the Queens Foundation for
Theological Education, based in the United Kingdom.

The group issued a call to churches stating that there is an increasing
need for theologically well-trained pastors, catechists and church leaders
in many newly emerging churches within Evangelical, Charismatic or
Pentecostal communities as well as historical churches from Orthodox,
Catholic or Protestant backgrounds.

The participants also recommended a reconsideration of the relationships
between religion and development, theology and socio-political
transformation, theological education and development agencies.

The call, which is titled “”Agenda 21 for Common Collaboration in
Theological Education – Findings of the Birmingham process,” said
theological education is not confined to issues related to the inner
maintenance of churches but addresses the whole range of issues relevant
for the socio-political context in which churches are operating.

“Thus theological education contributes to social transformation,
leadership capacity building and poverty reduction,” the message said.

The message called on development agencies to review funding policies that
have sidelined the work of the churches and their institutions for
theological education. It recommended a "more explicit cooperation between
development agencies and theological education".

The so-called “Birmingham process in theological education”, of which
this consultation was a part, is open to additional participants from
interested agencies, churches and networks. The process will be continued,
as the consultation appointed a continuation group, according to Rev. Dr
Dietrich Werner, programme executive for the Ecumenical Theological
Education work of the WCC.

The continuation group will look into appropriate next steps for providing
appropriate international tools for networking and common platforms,
particularly in the area of theological scholarship, e-learning, digital
theological library resources and other issues of quality in theological
education.

Reports of the conference will soon be made available online.


Website of the Queen’s Foundation (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=8e3fe44f8b9b077a6bdb )

WCC Ecumenical Theological Education programme (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=c3c3d1ab384d35db7bd9 )


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.



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