Seventh-Day Adventist Join International Unity Talks |
World's Most Diverse Gathering of Christians Kicks Off Unity TalksAn international gathering of the broadest range of Christian traditions ever met for a four-day conference beginning Tuesday. High level church leaders met near Nairobi, Kenya, in an unprecedented ecumenical showcase to discuss what Christians are called to do – and if possible together – in the world. The Global Christian Forum in Limuru convenes about 250 high level representatives of all the main Christian traditions and their global organizations. Evangelicals and Pentecostal make up about half of the participants. Under the theme of “Our Journey with Jesus Christ, the Reconciler,” participants will discuss how best to promote dialogue and cooperation on issues of Christian unity and common witness to the world. Attendees will also debate proposals for the future of the forum. The stated purpose of the forum 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. The idea for the forum was first proposed in the mid-1990s by then World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Konrad Raiser with the recognition that the ecumenical movement was broader than the WCC, which represents 560 million Christians in 110 countries. Although WCC helped initiate the process, the ecumenical body sees itself as a participating organization alongside others. The faith groups represented at the meeting in Limuru are: African Instituted, Anglican, Baptist, Evangelical, (Roman) Catholic, Disciples (Churches of Christ), Friends, Holiness, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Old Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Pentecostal, Reformed, Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventist, United and Uniting Churches. In addition to these denominations or “families,” a number of Christian organizations are also represented: regional ecumenical organizations, youth and student international movements, YMCA and YWCA, United Bible Societies, World Vision International, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the World Council of Churches and a number of forum-type organizations. From www.Christianpost.com Nov. 6, 2007 By Ethan Cole Christian Post Reporter |
Note: Highlights and Bolds added for emphasis. Blogman.
******
.11.07 09:33
Let's take risks, Kobia tells Global Christian Forum
The Nairobi Girls Chorale helped the Global Christian Forum to kick off in an atmosphere of joyful celebration.
Photo: Juan Michel/WCC
Click here for high resolution version.
"Some would have said that this event was not possible, but here we are - and the world wonders what will come next," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia at the opening of the Global Christian Forum taking place in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya, from 6-9 November.
Stressing the "unprecedented breadth" of the event in his address to a room packed with some 240 high level representatives from Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal and other churches from around the world, Kobia challenged the group to take some risks.
What many are saying is the broadest range of Christian traditions ever gathered at a global meeting, the forum's stated purpose is to create an open space for Christian churches and interchurch organizations to foster mutual respect and explore common challenges. In Limuru about half of the participants are Evangelicals and Pentecostals.
"I am stunned we have here what might be described as a new Pentecost," said Rev. Dr Cecil "Mel" Robeck, an Assemblies of God minister from the US and a member of the Global Christian Forum continuation committee.
The challenge today is to look "beyond our peculiarities and distinctions, divisions and conflicts, mistrusts and all apprehensions which divide us and set us up against one another," said Rev. Canon Peter Karanja, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya in delivering the reflection of the opening worship.
"I hope that we will take the risk of working together," and to forge "new relations among ourselves and between our churches" so that "Christian unity may be strengthened, quite apart from the self-interest of any one institution," Kobia said.
In a personal testimony, in line with the forum's methodology and style, Kobia spoke of his own faith journey, which started as he was raised as a second generation Christian in rural Kenya and continued through different stages of increasing ecumenical awareness.
"It is only by lowering barriers, by coming fully into each other's presence and confronting our prejudices, that we may come to understand each other significantly better," he said.
"There is already a lot of cooperation across boundaries at the grassroot level, be it on advocacy issues, fighting HIV and AIDS or other contemporary challenges," affirmed Rev. Dr Judy Mbugua, team leader of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, in welcoming the participants to the meeting, which she defined as "one of its kind".
According to Rev. Dr Mvume Dandala, who in turn welcomed participants as general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, "to show signs of unity in diversity is essential if Christians are to contribute to healing the fractures of the African continent".
Robeck briefed participants about the history of the Forum, acknowledging it had been born out of an idea of former WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser. While affirming the Forum's independence from any organization, he affirmed the WCC deserves gratitude for having contributed to create this new space, which "is not intended to replace any existing organization".
Leading the gathering in prayer, Fr. Jan Lenssen, from the secretary of ecumenism of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Kenya, prayed that those present may experience a "conversion of heart" and be "moved and engaged in open dialogue" out of the "desire to be in communion".
Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Kenya Makarios prayed for the Holy Spirit "to humble" the meeting participants so they may understand that "every and each of us have been made in God's image," and in so doing been able to feel "brotherly love".
In a written greeting to the gathering, the Forum was saluted as a "significant and timely initiative" by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. "The call to unity and common witness requires us to develop new conversations as well as to build on the fellowship we already enjoy," he wrote.
The Global Christian Forum aims to create a new and open space in which a broad range of Christian churches and interchurch organizations can gather in a multilateral setting, to discuss how best to promote dialogue and co-operation on issues of Christian unity and common witness to the world. As the Forum tries to include all streams of Christianity, including those which have not been in conversation with one another, in Limuru about half of the participants are Evangelicals and Pentecostals.
Media contact in Limuru: Juan Michel (+254) 7 3516 8676
Additional information on the Global Christian Forum meeting
Global Christian Forum website [in English, French and Spanish]
******
Global Christian leaders announce hope for Christian unity
LIMURU, Kenya (CNS) -- Top Christian leaders -- including evangelical and Pentecostal representatives -- recommitted themselves to working for Christian unity after an international meeting that had been planned for nine years. The Global Christian Forum brought a broad spectrum of Christians from diverse churches to Limuru, 30 miles northwest of Nairobi, in early November. The 245 participants represented the traditional Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches and included a large Catholic delegation led by Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Top evangelical and Pentecostal leaders from every continent and representatives of Bible societies, the YMCA and YWCA also participated. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches generally had declined to take part in previous ecumenical gatherings, but they produced almost half the participants at the forum, which included discussions on what God is doing in Christian churches and new trends in Christianity.
Source: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20071114.htm
******
Saturday, November 10, 2007
A vision of CHRISTIAN UNITY
It is reported today from Nairobi, Kenya, by Ecumenical News International (ENI) that Pentecostal and Evangelical leaders are looking to new forms of unity. Christians are different in their backgrounds, traditions, cultures, etc. It is a fact that we have to admit. However, this diversity has to be perceived as a beauty of Christianity. Unity in diversity is a biblical concept (see Eph. 4).
Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic leaders attending a world Christian forum in Kenya that has brought together many of Christianity's diverse strands, say it offers new opportunities, but they also warn of possible difficulties ahead.I grew up in Ambon, eastern Indonesia, a town where mainline churches persecute their pentecostal brothers and sisters due to some theological disagreements. They stone pentecostal churches, they beat pentecostal pastors severely, they do all kind of things to stop these crazy pentecostal religious activities. An influential Reformed leader in Indonesia, by the name of Stephen Tong, even said blatantly that pentecostal experiences, especially speaking in tongues, are all demonic. This is, of course, a provocative and "irrational" statement. Why should we accuse other Christians as demonic? This kind of attitude is very destructive.
"When you share your journey and discover how others people have travelled and find similarities in the journey, that helps you to travel together," commented the Rev. Richard Howell of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
About 240 leaders from Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal and other churches and international organizations attended the forum in Limuru near Nairobi.
Organizers say the gathering aimed to bring together the various streams of Christianity that have traditionally not been "in conversation" with each other.
The World Council of Churches groups many of the world's Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox denominations but the Roman Catholic Church does not belong to the Geneva-based WCC, nor do many Evangelical, Pentecostal or Charismatic churches.
In many parts of the world, Pentecostal and so-called non-mainline Protestant churches are growing, while mainstream churches continue to lose membership.
"A new form of ecumenism is needed that is able to embrace the challenges of world-wide Christianity," Pentecostal theologian and scholar Cheryl Bridges-Johns said in an 8 November address to participants.
She added that, "the old 'mainstream' ecumenical paradigm" was dying and the structures built to create and sustain the visible unity of the church were no longer viable.
"The achievement of unity will involve nothing less than a death and rebirth of many forms of church life as we have known them," Bridges-Johns said.
David R. Wells of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada said he welcomed the opportunities the forum offered to bring Christians of different traditions into contact with each other.
Still, he cautioned in an interview with Ecumenical News International, "When we get into the areas of real serious disagreement, we will have to see how one another respond to the willingness to agree to disagree."
And Pentecostal leader the Rev. Peter Sleebos of the Assemblies of God in the Netherlands warned about the use of the term "ecumenism", a word that has described the central task of the World Council of Churches since its foundation in 1948.
"Almost all our constituencies at home are very allergic to that word," he told participants on 8 November. "Forum, dialogue or 'exploring for unity' is easy to explain."
Leaders at the Kenya event said they want to continue the global forum as an open space where Christians from different traditions are able to work together in areas of common interest, and undertake individual actions when they differ.
WCC general secretary the Rev. Samuel Kobia welcomed the involvement of Pentecostal and Evangelical leaders in the forum, and said it had helped to overcome prejudices that existed.
In the past, Kobia suggested, Evangelicals had been wary of what has been called the "social gospel", or the kind of commitment to changing society with which the WCC has often been identified.
In recent years, however, Pentecostals and Evangelicals had become increasingly active in campaigns such as those warning of the dangers of climate change, Kobia noted.
"It is time for Pentecostal and Evangelicals to clarify where they stand on issues of social engagement," the WCC leader told journalists at the gathering.
The Rev. Ndaba Mazabane, a South African cleric who is chairperson of the World Evangelical Alliance, welcomed the Global Christian Forum.
"My idea of coming here is to start to deliberate on issues that are more common to us than are those that divide us," he said. "It is the beginning, but I don't know where this journey is going to take us."
When i read this news from ENI, suddenly i remember my home town. Today Pentecostal movement in Ambon has grown so fast. My hope is that the church leaders will see the vision of unity. They have to stop encouraging their adherents to hate other Christian brothers and sisters from other traditions. Rather than condemning one another, let us work together hand in hand to establish God's kingdom on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment