Annual Conference of the Secretaries of the Christian World Communions 2020

CU. 23 Oct 2020

More than thirty participants attended the annual Conference of the Secretaries of Christian World Communions (CS/CWC) that took place online from 20–22 October 2020. The Catholic Church was represented by Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, assisted by Reverend Andrzej Choromanski, staff responsible for the multilateral relations.

The meeting was chaired by Reverend Gretchen Castle (Friends World Committee for Consultation), with Reverend Dr Ganoune Diop (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists), acting as secretary. The conference opened with a prayer led by former Chair Reverend Dr Martin Junge (Lutheran World Federation), followed by a time of sharing from the participants on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the life of churches. It was underlined that the anti-COVID-19 measures had created an unprecedented challenge for Christian communions worldwide, limiting the access of the faithful to the usual pastoral care and restraining ecumenical relations. At the same time, the crisis had necessitated the use of modern technologies, with churches developing new and enduring forms of pastoral ministry and ecumenical life.

Time was dedicated to reflection on the nature and identity of the CS/CWC. It was underlined that the Conference is not an organisation with programmatic aims and determined agenda but a fraternal forum of secretaries from diverse Christian communions as well as representatives of some global ecumenical organisations who meet annually to exchange information, learn from each other and nurture fraternal relationships among their churches.

The recent encyclical of Pope Francis Fratelli tutti was acknowledged as an important encouragement to all Christian communions to unite efforts in building a culture of e

ncounter, solidarity and universal fraternity across political, social, and religious borders

G20 Interfaith Forum Gathers North American Religious Leaders

PRNewswire  Aug. 17, 2020

WASHINGTON, -- The G20 Interfaith Forum, the world's leading organization focused on bringing faith and policy together, hosted its North American regional meeting today. The virtual meeting focused on the religious response to COVID-19, racism and refugees and forced migration.

"The current global COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a heightened awareness of the human community's perpetual pandemic: racism," said Dr. Ganoune Diop, Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. "The brutal murder of African-American George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis unleashed a planetwide wave of outrage and revulsion at the ancient scourge of racism. The mandate of the G20 Interfaith Forum demands a recognition that racism and its corollary — antiracism — do not constitute an issue, but an idiom.  Racism infects every aspect of human endeavour and planetary existence."

Audrey Kitagawa, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World's Religions, co-hosted the "Conversation on Anti-Racism and Religious Responsibilities" panel with Diop.

Global Lord’s Prayer “united for humanity”

Oikumene 24 March 2020

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit invites all member churches for a joint prayer, saying the Lord’s Prayer together on Wednesday 25 March at noon.

Pope Francis has extended an invitation to all Christian leaders, including the World Council of Churches (WCC), to join in praying the Lord’s Prayer simultaneously on 25 March at noon Rome time, or noon local time at any location across the world.

In a letter of invitation, Cardinal Kurt Koch expressed his hope that all will join “this initiative in which all Christians invoking together the graces from heaven, will ask for the end of this pandemic, trusting in the power of God.”

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit welcomed the invitation and the opportunity for so many people to participate in a united prayer for all of humanity as the world faces the pandemic of COVID-19.

“As people across the globe are in their scattered working places at home, we will have the opportunity to unite our voices in praying to God with the words that our Lord Jesus Christ taught us” said Tveit. “At this challenging time, prayerful activities that unite us are a reminder that we are one human family.”

Faith leaders call for unity, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz

Church Times. 24 January 2020

THE 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz should be used “to come before God in worship, conscious of our need for forgiveness, but committed to action that would seek the common flourishing of all”, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

In a statement released this week, in advance of Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday, Archbishop Welby said: “The Holocaust, the Shoah, remains a unique stain on the history of Europe, and a chilling reminder to me of how millennia of Christian anti-Jewish hatred could provide a seedbed for such evil.”

The Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) has released a prayer for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day. It was launched at an event in the House of the Lords on Monday, where it was read by the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally.

The chair of the CCJ, the Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, said: “Through prayer, we will be asking Christians to remember the pains of the past, and to recommit to a better future for all people, and, in particular, of course, to commit themselves to combating anti-Semitism, which is such a scourge in our society and our world.”

The chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT), Olivia Marks-Woldman, said: “This year, we reflect on the theme ‘Stand Together’. In the run-up to the Holocaust, and in each subsequent genocide, perpetrators took deliberate steps to stop their designated victims living, studying, and working alongside their neighbours. Communities were stopped from being together.

“And, today, we know that prejudice and hostility based on faith or identity is still prevalent in many areas. Indeed, in some cases, it is even on the increase. We need to show solidarity to others.”

WCC: "an extraordinary ecumenical chance at this point" for hope and peace

August 29, 2017 3:47 PM

[WCC] The World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary, Revd Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has reflected on the work of the ecumenical movement in 2017, describing the present as “an extraordinary ecumenical chance at this point in history.”

Addressing a week long conference of the International Ecumenical Fellowship in Wittenberg, in Germany, Revd Olav  reflected that, if we are living in a very dangerous phase of human history, we are also witnessing a moment of renewed hope for life.

“The tensions around the Korean Peninsula have brought us even closer to a nuclear stand-off during the last weeks,” he said. “In addition, the denial of global warming and its consequences and the violence and war in the Middle East and other regions are other factors darkening the horizon of the future of humankind.” In contrast to this bleak picture, however, more and more people are realising they cannot remain silent bystanders but must act.

“Was this not the case for so many who were moved and motivated by Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli or John Calvin at the time of the Reformation?” Revd Olav asked. “Of course, we learned that this momentum can get lost, can even be turned upside down as a legitimisation of human power and a justification for violence and war.”

Revd Olav also described the signs of hope he has seen in his travels. “I just visited the people and churches in the Pacific who still suffer the consequences of nuclear testing in their region and see their islands threatened by the consequences of climate change,” he said. “But they continue to celebrate life and to look out for the solidarity of their sisters and brothers worldwide that is so important for them.”

He also described the hope he felt when the WCC leadership met recently with Pope Francis for a private audience.

“There is only one common future and hope for all or there is no hope for the future at all,” he continued. “We have seen in the ecumenical movement how repentance and mutual accountability have contributed to the deepening of the fellowship and the capacity to address the dividing powers of this world.”

Rather than focusing on our enemies, we should pay attention to the forces that make people enemies to one another, he said. “We have to analyse how the polarizing and dividing powers that lead to conflict and war today are working against the will of God in this world.”

The churches are in many ways affected by the divisions of our times, Revd Olav continued. “In theological terms the lack of the capacity to relate to the other or the neighbour in responsible ways reflects the brokenness of community with the other and with God,” he said. “The continuing existence of injustice, racism, war, killings, persecution and despair driving people to flee from their dear homes and families reminds us that these are not just matters of history but remain a reality for Europe and the world today.”

Revd Olav urged people to see the value of moving forward together as churches in a pilgrimage of justice and peace. “We do have an extraordinary ecumenical chance at this point in history. Let us pray that we don’t miss it.”         Anglican News