Transcript Report of Uniting General Council

World Communion of Reformed Churches
(WCRC)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
June 17 – 27, 2010
What is the WCRC?
 Merger between World Alliance of Reformed
Churches (WARC) and Reformed Ecumenical
Alliance (REC)
 Launched at the Uniting General Council in June
2010 in Grand Rapids
 Brings together 80 million Reformed Christians
worldwide
 United to be a stronger voice on the big issues of
our day - climate change, human rights, economic
justice and helping our neighbours of all faiths.
What is the WCRC?
 Its 230 member churches in 108 countries are
Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed, Uniting and
United churches with roots in the 16th-century
Reformation led by John Calvin, John Knox and others.
WCRC has its secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.
Historic Communion
 In 2005, the REC Assembly resolved to approach
the World Alliance of Reformed Churches to
propose a much closer relationship, that the REC
become an "entity within" the WARC.
 In January 2006, a joint committee of eight
delegates proposed that the two organizations
each disband and that the member churches
together for a new organization.
Uniting General Council
 New body will meet every seven years
 General council elects new executive and new
president
 Makes decisions on major issues facing the world and
member churches
 Gathering of some 600 delegates from more than 100
countries plus guests, observers, staff, volunteers and
presenters, all totalling about 1000
United Church of Canada
 A member of the former WARC and the new
WCRC
 Shares the same interest in social justice issues,
such as peace, poverty, racism, environment and
empire
 Benefits from the dialogue with people from
around the world
 Informs our decision making on these issues
 We are ahead of many of the Reformed movement
in some issues such as gender justice
UCC Delegates
 UCC has six “voting” delegates selected through the
Nomination process, based on expressions of interest.
 Delegates included two from Saskatchewan (Moses
Kanhai and Vic Weibe), two from Alberta, one from
New Brunswick, one from Nova Scotia
Other UCC Participants
 Co-opted staff, committee members, stewards,
observers, presenters, ecumenical guest,
theological students
 One UCC participant (Peter Wyatt) was dean of
the Global Institute of Theology that took part in
the council as part of their theological studies
 One key UCC staff worked on the planning team
and one is a member of the communication staff.
Format of UGC
 Opening parade and service
 Plenary sessions in gym - main hall
 Worship in college chapel
 Bible studies, section meetings, committee meetings,
region meetings, in buildings around campus
 Meals in two dining halls
 Accommodation in dormitories
Format of UGC
 Morning and evening worship services
 Daily Bible studies – delegates assigned a group of
about eight or 10 people
 Delegates pre-selected Sections at time of registration
by choosing from a list of topics.
UGC theme
 Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace
 Primary focus on unity and justice
 (Ephesians 4) “I therefore, the prisoner in the
Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling
tow which you have been called, with all munility
and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another in love, amking every effort to aintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is
one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to
the hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above
all and through all and in all.”
Peace
 True peace should be based on justice and equality for
all, regardless of ethnicity, intellect, educational
qualifications, social status, age, or gender.
 It entails an acknowledgement and recognition of not
only our own worth, but also that of others.
Issues
 Some of the issues were based on past councils as
articulated in reports such as the Accra Confession
 Some issues were raised in plenary
 Sections were opportunities for all to explore
issues in depth
 Provided brief report to Policy committee
 These were reviewed along with all reports and
included in a report to the plenary from the Policy
committee
Decision Making
 Policy committee reported to the plenary
 The full body had the opportunity to comment and
debate, amend as necessary
 Vote on report of Policy committee
 Report becomes policy and part of the message from
the council
 Message committee prepare a statement for public
distribution
Attendance
 Participants from numerous countries, e.g. Ghana, Nigeria,
Madagascar, Cameroon, Togo, Philippines, South Africa, Uganda,
Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Congo, Senegal, France,
Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Mozambique, Lesotho, Rwanda,
Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Botswana, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan,
China, Malaysia, Singapore, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana,
Jamaica, Grenada, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, Switzerland, Germany,
Romania, Lithuania, Denmark, United Kingdom, Hungary, Greece,
Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Sweden,
Slovakia, Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Luxemburg, Italy, Republic of
Ireland, Belgium, Ukraine, Columbia, Brazil, Guatemala, Chile,
Honduras, Venezuela, El Savador, Argentina, Dominican Republic,
Uruguay, Mexico, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Canada, USA,
Australia, Samoa, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, New
Zealand, Niue Island, Kiribati, Vanuatu.
Worship
 Morning and evening worship, generally led by
different cultural groups, e.g. Middle Eastern,
Hispanic, Caribbean.
 Often energetic, with new hymns composed for the
event
 Liturgical dancing
 Excellent music leadership
Bible Study
 Bible Study booklet with five subthemes from the
Unity theme of the council
 Best opportunity to bond with a small group
representing different countries and denominations
 My group represented India, UK, Lithuania, Nigeria,
Taiwan, South Africa, Australia and Canada
Sections
 Sections covered a range of issues oriented topics
 I joined Leadership Development and Nurturing
 Group discussed importance of Formal Training,
Youth Leadership Development and Lay Leadership
Development
Workshops
 Covered instructional topics such as Using Volunteers
in the Fight Against AIDS, People with Disabilities,
Water – Gift of God and Human Right, Economic
Globalization and the Struggle for Justice, When
Children Matter, Food Justice, Pursuing Justice for
Indigenous People and Caste in the Context of Empire.
Workshops
 I attended workshops on Mission in the Context of
Empire, Emerging Christianity, Truth Telling, Healing
and Reconciliation, and Leadership and
Congregational Sustainability.
Committees
 Some delegates were pre-selected to participate in
committees such as Policy, Issues and Messages.
 These represented a very important aspect of the work
and consumed long hours in order to have reports
ready for presentation to the plenary
First Nations Involvement
 Very important aspect of the whole experience,
including the opening parade, theme speaker, pow
wow and worship
 Native American leader donated a family medallion to
the WCRC
 Proposal passed to use medallion as a symbol of the
presidency to be passed on to future presidents
Local Community
 Numerous ways that local Reformed churches shared
in the experience – attending closing worship and
communion, hosting delegates, inviting groups of
delegates to worship in local churches and join local
families for lunch
 Local church sponsors hosted tables at the banquet
held in a hall in the city
Hospitality
 Evident from first arriving at the airport, registration,
all forms of support throughout the event
 Bonding of delegates with local church members –
house guests, outings, etc.
Ecumenical Guests
 Throughout the gathering ecumenical guests,
representing major friends of the WCRC brought
greetings
 Included World Council of Churches, Vatican, other
faith communities
Theme Speakers
 Several theme speakers, including …
 A significant speaker was Richard Twiss …
Visa Denials
 A cloud that hung over the event was the reminder
that 73 delegates were denied Visas by American
Authorities
 Special prayers were said and a proposal for a letter of
protest to the American government
Loss of a Delegate
 On the last day of the event, the pianist and organist
and worship leader at worship services, Christina
Mandang, of Indonesia, died in a traffic accident.
Weather
 There were also real, literal clouds hanging over the
council
 At 1:05 a.m. on one night of the time, the tornado siren
in the city sounded and many delegates had to retreat
to the basements of the dorms until the tornado
warning was lifted
 The tornado damaged places near the city but missed
the campus.