Walter Altmann: Greater communion, not minimalist agenda

[WCC News] The newly-elected moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee speaks in this interview about the beauty of the ecumenical vision and the enthusiasm it engenders, the scandal of divisions between Christians, and his dream of churches which allow themselves to be renewed so as to experience the unity of the
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Posted: August 22, 2006 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=4899
Categories: WCC News Transmis : 22 aoüt 2006 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=4899
Catégorie : WCC News

Christian code of conduct on religious conversion wins broader backing

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is ready to join the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican in supporting a code of conduct to guide activities seeking converts to Christianity.
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Posted: August 15, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=336
Categories: WCC News Transmis : 15 aoüt 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=336
Catégorie : WCC News

Most diverse Christian gathering ever to discuss unity and common witness

A unique gathering of high level church leaders to start Tuesday, 6 November near Nairobi, Kenya, features the broadest range of Christian traditions ever represented at a global meeting, allowing for a discussion of unprecedented ecumenical breadth on what Christians are called to do – together if possible – in the world today.

The 6-9 November gathering, called the Global Christian Forum, brings together about 250 high level representatives of all the main Christian traditions and of their global organizations at the Jumuia Conference Centre in Limuru, near Nairobi.

The Forum’s stated purpose is to create a new, open space in which a broad range of Christian churches and interchurch organizations can gather in a multilateral setting to foster mutual respect and explore and address together common challenges. It aims to include all streams of Christianity, including those which have not been in conversation with one another. In Limuru about half of the participants will be Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

Over four days, with the theme “Our Journey with Jesus Christ, the Reconciler,” participants will discuss how best to promote dialogue and co-operation on issues of Christian unity and common witness to the world. They will debate proposals for the future of the Forum, and it is hoped that a “Letter to the Churches” will summarize the results of the meeting.
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Posted: November 6, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=365
Categories: Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, WCC News • In this article: Global Christian Forum Transmis : 6 novembre 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=365
Catégorie : Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, WCC News • Dans cet article : Global Christian Forum

Ecumenism – or how to ride a bicycle between this life and the other

“Church unity is like riding a bicycle. We will fall unless we go forward.” This affirmation was posed as a challenge by Korean missiologist Wonsuk Ma to participants at the Global Christian Forum taking place on 6-9 November in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya.

In a keynote address delivered on the second day of the forum, Ma analyzed Christian developments in unity and mission over the last century. He affirmed that in Christian mission, the seemingly contradictory emphases on “life before death” and on “life after death” – which have separated “mainline” and “evangelical” Christians for decades – are actually complementary and in need of each other.

Read the complete article on Dr. Ma’s address to the Global Christian Forum on our website.
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Posted: November 8, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=371
Categories: WCC News • In this article: Global Christian Forum Transmis : 8 novembre 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=371
Catégorie : WCC News • Dans cet article : Global Christian Forum

Ecumenism needs reinvention, Pentecostal scholar says

Pentecostal theologian and scholar Cheryl Bridges-Johns proposed a radical reinvention of the ecumenical movement in a keynote address delivered on the third day of the Global Christian Forum which takes place 6-9 November in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya.

Bridges-Johns, a professor at the Theological Seminary of the Church of God in Cleveland (Tennessee), US, sparked a vivid discussion with her lecture, which elaborated on a statement from the 1961 New Delhi assembly of the World Council of Churches: “the achievement of unity will involve nothing less than a death and rebirth of many forms of church life as we have known them”.

Read the complete article for further details of Prof. Bridges-Johns’ address, as well as links to additional resources on the Global Christian Forum.
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Posted: November 9, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=374
Categories: WCC News • In this article: Global Christian Forum Transmis : 9 novembre 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=374
Catégorie : WCC News • Dans cet article : Global Christian Forum

Global Christian consultation tackles biotechnology

Designer babies, nanotechnology, and genetically modified crops were a few of the topics covered at a Dec. 2-5 consultation in Johannesburg, SA. The Global Consultation for Genetics, New Biotechnologies, and the Ministry of the Church gathered 45 church representatives, scientists, young people, indigenous people, disabled people, and theologians to talk about biotechnology, defined as the industrial use of microorganisms or biological substances.
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Posted: December 20, 2007 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=399
Categories: WCC News Transmis : 20 décembre 2007 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=399
Catégorie : WCC News

Praying together for Christian unity throughout a century of changes

Although prayer is certainly at the heart of Christian life, praying together is not an easy exercise for churches within worldwide Christendom. Even today, common prayers are exceptional events rather than part of the daily life of the churches. But at least once a year it has become “normal” for many churches and congregations to pray together during the annual celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In 2008, the 100th anniversary of this most meaningful ecumenical initiative is being celebrated around the globe.
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Posted: January 14, 2008 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=405
Categories: WCC News Transmis : 14 janvier 2008 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=405
Catégorie : WCC News

Christian youth movements call for signs of unity

[WCC News] A number of major international Christian youth movements and organizations called for stronger efforts towards unity in a joint statement issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Addressed to the heads of the Roman Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches, Christian World Communions and Regional Ecumenical Organizations, the statement asks them to “share ecumenical dialogue with young people” and expresses the commitment of the signatories to “raise awareness of the importance of Christian unity among young people”.
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Posted: January 24, 2008 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=413
Categories: WCC News Transmis : 24 janvier 2008 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=413
Catégorie : WCC News

Bossey totem pole returned to the earth

Bossey totem pole returned to the earth
[WCC News] After 25 years standing vigil at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, a totem pole was returned to the soils of the earth Sunday at a ceremony attended by many of those taking part in this week’s Central Committee meetings.

The totem was presented as a gift of the churches of Canada at the WCC’s Sixth Assembly, held in Vancouver, as a way to raise the profile of indigenous people. Time and weather took its toll on the nearly 50 foot-tall totem since its placement at Bossey, and it had become unstable.

Following advice from the First Nations of Canada, the WCC decided to hold a respectful ceremony to remember the gift and the work of those who carved it. Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, a Central Committee member from the United Church of Canada and member of the indigenous people of western Canada, was asked to lead the ceremony. A small, permanent display will continue to tell the totem’s story.
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Posted: February 18, 2008 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=429
Categories: WCC News • In this article: Indigenous peoples, WCC Transmis : 18 février 2008 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=429
Catégorie : WCC News • Dans cet article : Indigenous peoples, WCC

Orthodox women: church participation improved but concerns remain

Orthodox women: church participation improved but concerns remain

[WCC News] Over the last decade, Orthodox women reached significant milestones regarding their participation in church life, but many of their concerns have not yet been fully addressed, an international gathering of Orthodox women stated.

A long decade has passed since the last inter-Orthodox women’s consultation took place in Istanbul, Turkey in 1997. In the intervening years, the participation of Orthodox women in the life of the church has improved. Significant milestones range from the recognition of women’s issues by church structures to women’s participation in some church ministries and decision-making processes.

Many of the concerns of women, however, have not yet been fully addressed within the life of the church. A list of them includes: access to and funding for theological studies and subsequent employment opportunities within the church; supporting and equipping women for pastoral care and other church ministries; broader participation in church decision-making processes; taking a new look at prayers and practices associated with women’s biology.

These were amongst the main findings of a five-day long consultation, which brought together some 45 women from Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America. Meeting from 8-12 June in Volos, Greece, they discussed the participation, ministry and concerns of Orthodox women in the church and in the ecumenical movement.

Participants at the consultation recommended undertaking a full assessment of the current situation and needs of Orthodox women, given the many changes that have taken place over the last decade, as well as the development of a framework for future action. “We see the need to identify, together with our church leadership, the ways and instruments to implement decisions and recommendations of women’s consultations in our churches”, the participants stated in a report on the deliberations.

The consultation took place at the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and was sponsored by the World Council of Churches Programme for Women in Church and Society and hosted by the Diocese of Dimitrias.

Resources

• Full text of the Report of the Inter-Orthodox Consultation
• WCC Programme for Women in Church and Society
• Diocese of Dimitrias, Church of Greece (in Greek)
• Volos Academy for Theological Studies (partially in Greek)
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Posted: June 26, 2008 • Permanent link: ecu.net/?p=474
Categories: WCC News • In this article: Orthodox Transmis : 26 juin 2008 • Lien permanente : ecu.net/?p=474
Catégorie : WCC News • Dans cet article : Orthodox