WARC Update December 2009

Grand Rapids destined to host the Uniting General Council On a cold February day in 2006, eight people of faith changed the course of ecumenical history. (21.12.2009)
Drums to signal world unity at Uniting General Council For a Native American minister from Grand Rapids, next June’s Uniting General Council (UGC) will do more than launch a new ecumenical organization. (21.12.2009)
Need for action against economic and ecological injustice Strong emphasis was laid on action by Christians to fight the injustices of the global economy and to seize the opportunity presented by the near-collapse of its financial system to change world institutions, in a message of an ecumenical conference at Willow Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. (21.12.2009)
Globalization we can grasp Christians are increasingly articulate critics of economic, social and environmental abuse. What is often missing for ordinary people in those critiques is an idea of what they can do to make a difference at home, in their parishes and in the broader community. (21.12.2009)
Global Institute of Theology offered in 2010 Theology students with an interest in ecumenism and mission are being offered the opportunity to combine classroom study with participation in an historic global ecumenical assembly. (21.12.2009)
Choose Life, Act in Hope: published WARC has published a guide to the Accra Confession that points to the declaration’s importance to Christian ethics in the contemporary world. (21.12.2009)
Grandma and you, at “Edinburgh 2010” How did your grandmother living around 1910 understand the word “mission”? And what did your great-grandfather think of the unity of the church? People in three countries have been gathering to share stories of early mission work and to compare those with their own witness today. (21.12.2009)
Prayer offered for disaster victims Earthquakes, flooding and a tsunami have caused massive loss of lives and destruction of property in Western Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, the Philippines and Indonesia in recent months. (21.12.2009)
Korean student wins Lombard Prize A Korean theology student has won the 2009 Lombard Prize for his study of the implications of John Calvin’s theology for the current ecological and economic crisis. (21.12.2009)
Calvin anniversary organizers say events challenged 'caricature' Organizers of a year of celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the 16th-century Protestant reformer Jean Calvin say they hope the events will mark a new interest in the relevance of his legacy to issues such as economic justice. (21.12.2009)
Celebrating the freedom of God and human freedom Throughout 2009, Update has featured excerpts from the four award-winning sermons on the teachings of John Calvin which were selected by the International Patronage Committee to mark the Calvin Jubilee. In the fourth and final of the series, we hear from Kathrin Oxen, a pastor of the Evangelical Reformed Church in Mecklenburg, Germany. (21.12.2009)
Women too played a role in the Reformation In this year of celebrating the legacy of John Calvin, women in the Reformed church family are seeking to learn about the role of women in the 16th century Reformation movement in Europe. (21.12.2009)
International award promotes women in leadership The Swiss Reformed church minister, Sylvia Michel, was a pioneer. In 1964, Michel became the first woman in Switzerland to be ordained and head a ministry in her own parish in a cantonal (regional) church. In 1980, she was elected president of the Reformed Church of Argovia, thus becoming the first woman in Switzerland to have reached this level of church leadership. (21.12.2009)
Paying tribute to Margaret Flory The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) is remembering an American ecumenist as “a force to reckon with” in the ecumenical world. Margaret Flory, 95, died Thursday, 01 October, in Hendersonville in the United States. (21.12.2009)
Ikaw ang kusog – You Are My Strength Shhhhh…Listen… The air is dusty, sour, grey…Can you imagine? There are trucks coming and going: Full of stinking, putrid, rotten garbage. And while unloading, people run, grab the plastics, digging and grubbing. They pick materials to sell, leftovers to eat and things to recycle. (21.12.2009)
Debate rages in Switzerland about religious plurality Controversy in Switzerland over an influx of immigrants from non-Christian faith traditions has focused in past months on whether to allow the construction of minarets on the country’s mosques. (21.12.2009)
Canada’s third generation ecumenist is an Indigenous leader She is a third generation ecumenist and, in her first term as a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Carmen Lansdowne has clearly impressed people. (21.12.2009)
Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu told protecting the environment is God’s will The Presbyerian Church of Vanuatu will be following God’s will by taking a leading role in efforts to reverse the effects of climate change according to the leader of a global alliance of Reformed churches. (21.12.2009)
Remembering Lew Mudge A memorial service in tribute to Lewis (“Lew”) S. Mudge, a leading 20th century Presbyterian theologian, ethicist and ecumenist, has been held in Princeton in the United States. Mudge died on 11 September in his home in Berkeley, California at the age of 79 following a long and distinguished career in ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. (21.12.2009)
Restore human rights in Honduras says church delegation Officials of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) travelled to Honduras in September to visit churches in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa and to meet with the Comisiones de Derechos Humanos (human rights commission) and representatives of civil society groups. The focus of the visit was to learn about what has been happening in the country since the coup in June which deposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya. (21.12.2009)
German churches send delegation to North Korea A delegation led by Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), visited North and South Korea in October. (21.12.2009)
Olav Fykse Tveit elected WCC General Secretary Norwegian theologian and pastor Olav Fykse Tveit, 48, was elected 7th general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 27 August during its Central Committee meeting. Tveit will be the youngest general secretary since Willem A. Visser 't Hooft, the first to hold the role. (21.12.2009)
Lutheran World Federation General Secretary-elect welcomed Church leaders have welcomed the election of the Martin Junge, a 48-year-old Chilean pastor, as general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) from 2010. (21.12.2009)
Hymn writer who found words for faith and justice is praised Fred Kaan, a prolific 20th century English-language hymnologist, once described himself as the (21.12.2009)
From the General Secretary’s desk (21.12.2009)
Uniting General Council Bible Study Resource to be available in January 2010 (21.12.2009)