World Council of Churches to Meet in Brazil to `Transform World’

c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) At a moment when war, violence and poverty engulf much of the world, and when the vision of church unity seems uncertain at best and fading for many, the World Council of Churches is boldly asking God to “transform the world.” The international ecumenical body of some 347 Orthodox […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) At a moment when war, violence and poverty engulf much of the world, and when the vision of church unity seems uncertain at best and fading for many, the World Council of Churches is boldly asking God to “transform the world.”

The international ecumenical body of some 347 Orthodox and Protestant churches and denominations across 120 countries will gather next week (Feb. 14-23) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, for its first assembly of the 21st century _ and the ninth since its founding in 1948.


The WCC’s first Assembly in Latin America is expected to bring together about 800 delegates and more than 1,200 other church leaders, advisers, observers and visitors for worship, workshops, Bible study and plenary sessions.

The business sessions will focus on economic justice, Christian identity in a pluralistic world, and church unity and the future of ecumenism.

And, in what may seem a striking departure for those who view the WCC only through a political lens, spirituality is expected to be a major topic of the nine-day meeting.

“Our world is in need of profound transformation,” said the Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the Geneva-based body, in a statement shortly before the meeting.

“We live in an era marked by destructive power and disgraced human dignity. Economic and cultural globalization, new forms of militarism and domination, and ecological destruction have rarely been so evident.”

As they always have, the world’s conflicts _ especially the war in Iraq, the long-term fight against terrorism, and violence in Sudan and across Africa _ will be on the agenda.

The WCC is halfway through its Decade to Overcome Violence, which was launched in 2001 as a way of mobilizing the churches’ peacemaking resources. In the United States, the program helped rally church opposition to the U.S. war against Iraq.


“The question for the churches remains: how can we together foster a culture of peace, seeking to restore the authentic nature of our humanity, in a context where violence has become so prevalent,” Kobia said.

Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, in a meditation on the assembly theme of transformation, linked spirituality and justice.

“When our hearts are transformed by divine grace, we see the world differently and are impelled to act graciously,” he wrote. “Through the transforming grace of God, we are empowered to seek solutions to conflict through open exchange, without resorting to oppression or domination.”

But even as the church leaders work to change the secular political and economic structures of their societies, the core goal of the ecumenical movement _ church unity _ remains elusive and problematic.

Nowhere will that be more evident than in the worship services during the assembly, where theological differences will keep participants from any common celebrations of the Eucharist, or Communion.

In addition, tensions remain between some Orthodox churches and WCC’s Protestant denominations over a perceived domination of liberal Protestant theology, politics and decision-making styles.


A year ago, the WCC’s Central Committee, acting on a recommendation from a Special Commission on Orthodox, adopted a change to make decisions by consensus rather than majority vote, a radical change in the WCC’s culture.

The council has also been trying to find ways to increase the participation of the Roman Catholic Church and Pentecostal bodies in its work. Some Pentecostal groups are members of the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church participates in some, but not all, aspects of its work.

But the signals _ and the results _ have been mixed.

In January, Cardinal Walter Kasper, who oversees ecumenical affairs for the Vatican, told a European gathering of Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant leaders that the church unity movement is in danger because leaders no longer agree about the goals of the movement.

“If we no longer agree about the aim the danger is that we will go in different, maybe even opposite directions, and will be further apart at the end than we were at the beginning,” he said.

While there will be sustained discussion of how the unity movement should unfold in the new century, no major concrete actions are expected.

The WCC, which has played a key role in fostering interreligious dialogue, will also meet at a time when interfaith tensions are high, especially after European newspapers published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that deeply angered Muslims. The cartoons have sparked violent riots in a number of countries, including attacks on Christian churches in Lebanon.


“The ongoing tension between different religious traditions points to the necessity of deepening our relations with neighbors of other faiths, moving beyond dialogue to active collaboration in areas of common concern,” Kobia said before the cartoon controversy erupted.

Internally, Kobia said the ecumenical movement “has reached an important point of transition” and added the WCC “should do less and do it well.” He said he expects the council to engage in fewer programs, but also deepen its involvement in certain key areas.

“Churches nurturing a culture of peace, equipping themselves to become moral communities and refusing the intolerable will remain a central focus of the WCC’s work,” he said.

“`We should not underestimate the real potential of the churches together to contribute to the transformation of the world, in spite of the reality of the difficulties we face.”

KRE/JL END ANDERSON

Editors: To obtain a photo of Kobia, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug. If searching by subject, designate “exact phrase” for best results.

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