01.02.2006
A “MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN UNITY” IN REFORMED FAMILY OF CHURCHES
Calling it a “major step forward in unity,” leaders of two worldwide Reformed church groups representing more than 80 million Protestants are calling for a new global body named the World Reformed Communion.
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The joint WARC-REC committee that brought in the historic recommendations takes a break from meetings. |
The unanimous recommendation comes out of a meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S., where representatives of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) met for two days ending 1 February.
“We rejoice in the work of the Holy Spirit which we believe has led us to recommend that the time has come to bring together the work of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council into one body that will strengthen the unity and witness of Reformed Christians,” Clifton Kirkpatrick, president of WARC, and Douwe Visser, president of REC, said in a joint letter to their constituencies.
“We also believe that this new, united, Reformed body will be a blessing to the broader ecumenical movement and to the reconciliation of the world.”
Setri Nyomi, general secretary of WARC, hailed the recommendation as historic. “We praise God for this historic development. In a world filled with divisions, the Reformed family is signalling with this proposal that we are ready to move beyond our divisions.
“In this action we echo the fact that through our oneness, the world will believe. It undoubtedly will also be an important contribution in the ongoing search for more coherence in reconfiguring the ecumenical movement as a whole,” Nyomi said.
His comments were echoed by Richard van Houten, REC’s general secretary. “I think we are blessed to find a way forward that will create an open communion that will be a strong witness and will carry into it the values that the members of the Reformed Ecumenical Council treasure.
“In the new World Reformed Communion, it is my prayer that our love and care for each other and our witness in the world will get an even better vehicle for expression than our two organizations separately have been,” van Houten said.
The recommendation needs to be ratified by the governing bodies of both WARC and REC.
WARC has 75 million members in 218 churches in 107 countries. REC has 12 million members in 40 churches in 25 countries. The two bodies, which have 27 common member churches, have been in bilateral talks since 1998.
The Grand Rapids meeting produced a document titled “World Reformed Communion: A Proposal for a New Global Entity for Reformed Christians (to succeed the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council).”
It states that all current member churches of both bodies would become members of the World Reformed Communion. It also recommends that other Reformed, Presbyterian, Congregational, Waldensian, First Reformation, United and Uniting traditions who affirm the basis of the new body be invited to join.
It suggests that other agencies and theological institutions of the Reformed movement be invited into active affiliation with the World Reformed Communion.
The leaders recommended the following callings for the new worldwide body:
- to foster Reformed confessional identity and communion among Reformed churches;
- to promote justice in the economy and the earth and to work for reconciliation in the world;
- to encourage the renewal of Reformed worship and spiritual life as a global family of God’s people;
- to aid leadership development and the nurture of the covenant community;
- to promote the full participation of women and youth in all aspects of the church’s life;
- to renew a passion among Reformed Christians for God’s mission, both witness and service, in a spirit of partnership and unity.
