Session I
1. Welcome and introductions
2. Overview of the unit's programme work, highlighted through a slide presentation with
commentary
Session II
This session will be based on feedback from delegates and other participants offering reactions
and concerns from the local context. Two animators will move among participants inviting
their comments. A basket containing one-line statements or questions on justice, peace and
creation issues will be passed around to provoke participants to react to these with particular
reference to their own local context. These statements may in turn elicit reactions from other
participants. The intention is not to set up an adversarial situation, but to illustrate the wide
diversity of understandings and experiences.
Interspersed in this process will be a number of pre-recorded telephone conversations with people in different parts of the world who have been involved in Unit III programmes or for whom the WCC's work on justice, peace and creation has been critical.
Session III
Members of the Programme Guidelines Committee (PGC) will describe what they have heard
in the previous sessions. Participants will then be asked for reactions and comments. The
session will end with the members of the PGC indicating the direction of what they will carry
back to subsequent PGC meetings.
Mandate, programme structure and programme summaries
At its first meeting in Evian, May 1992, the Unit III commission formulated the following
mandate:
Without a doubt the greatest challenge for the unit has been to work in an integrated and
cohesive way. Five former sub-units, each quite large and each with its own decision-making
bodies and budgets, were required to work as one. Both the commission and staff devoted a
good deal of time, imagination and energies to that end; and a reasonable measure of success
was achieved.
The process of integration had three stages: (1) thematic integration
An important step was taken in May 1995 when the commission agreed on five themes:
In recent years the concern about "globalization" has become increasingly prominent on the
unit's agenda. The discussion on globalization provided the opportunity for discerning how
the changed and the changing global context affected the unit's work in terms of concept,
content and methodology. In the course of time it became clear that virtually all the unit's
programmatic activities were affected in one way or another
.
The term "globalization" does not appear in the official report of the Canberra assembly.
However in the period following the Evian meeting in 1992, globalization came to be generally
accepted as the term that best describes the economic, political and social changes the world is
going through. Its usage within Unit III gained greater currency during and after the second
unit commission meeting at Larnaca in 1993. At the Geneva commission meeting in 1995, the
director's report focused on globalization as a challenge to the ecumenical agenda.
Since the unit's programmatic work from 1991 to 1996 was actually done within teams, this
report will focus on the three unit-wide programmes and the five teams.
As it developed, the work of the unit was built on three types of activities:
1. Study and reflection: basic theological work, ethical reflection and development,
socio-economic and political analysis, documentation.
2. Networking and advocacy: enabling and empowering groups, ecumenical formation,
facilitating local initiatives, strengthening communications.
3. Support of partners in action.
Since 1996 these themes have provided the framework for the unit's programmatic activities.
Programme staff were grouped in working teams around these themes - some being in more
than one at any time, as specific programmes were developed within a theme requiring their
particular skills.
Theology of Life
The ten affirmations of the world convocation on JPIC (Seoul 1990)were chosen as entry
points for more than twenty case studies in different parts of the world - usually two on each
of the affirmations. This methodology was based on the assumption that theological
commonalities and differences, when raised up in local, regional and worldwide interconnected
struggles, can deepen understanding in each place and for all involved. The case studies were
complemented by a study of the history of ecumenical social thought in the WCC.
The case study groups started their work in 1994. They began to reflect on one of the ten
Seoul affirmations based on the experiences of the people in their own context. They
encouraged each other to trust the language of life and to resist the usual division between
intellect and emotion which devalues the latter in favour of the former. While this
corresponded to what many contextual theologians in different regions of the world were
already doing, the unit took a new initiative in applying basic insights of contextual theologies
also to the process of mutual exchange, by linking the local and the global. The question was:
"Can we find a way of doing contextual theology ecumenically and contextualize ecumenical
theology in a new way?"
The process culminated at the "Sokoni" conference in Nairobi in January 1997, which proved
to be a turning point in the life of the unit. Sokoni is the Swahili word for the
traditional African market in Kenya. More than merely a place for exchanging goods, Sokoni
is a place for communication that builds and strengthens the community. Representatives of
the unit and case study coordinators met at Nairobi together with 300-500 people from Kenya
in a circle of open African huts. The Unit III commissioners, in summarizing lessons learned in
the Theology of Life programme and other areas of programmatic work, emphasized that the
unit had developed a new style of ecumenical work:
Jubilee and the African Kairos
A study on Democracy and the Ethics of Good Governance provided a dynamic framework
for in-depth reflections on African politics and the role of religion today. In several African
countries churches have been actively engaged in the democratization process. Often this role
has been thrust on them by history, since many other institutions of the civil society have been
systematically disabled by more than two decades of dictatorship. By and large the churches
are illequipped for such a role.
The study process therefore was instrumental in attempting to build the capacity of the
churches to play a meaningful role in the search for peaceful, just and participatory societies in
Africa. One of the findings of the study was that while the struggles for democracy in Africa
have been going on for a long time, the current democratization process is not necessarily a
process of people's emancipation; rather, it is a process for legitimizing the disempowerment
of the people. In most countries of Africa the preoccupation is with the process and not the
content of democracy,
The process of dialogue identified many issues that need further reflection and action in the
areas of theological and biblical understanding, social change, and methodologies and
strategies.
When Unit III was formed, it was clear that integration of the unit had to be
much more than just an internal bureaucratic exercise, but had to involve the broader
constituencies of the different teams. Within two years, the unit developed a process that
promised to fulfill this function: a programme called Theology of Life Justice, Peace,
Creation. The proposal for this programme began from the conviction that theologies
developed in the struggles for justice, peace and creation are inter-related and all share in the
common concern for life. The question put on the table was how to address matters of
difference in multi-cultural societies where race, class and gender still discriminate against
many.Essentially this style of ecumenical work is one in which churches, and churches
and movements, learn from one another, with the WCC as a vehicle for deepening and
broadening their exchange and taking new or enhanced initiatives. When it works, the process
stimulates renewed vision, deeper analysis, and more creative cooperative methods, all
pursued in ecumenical networks. Inclusiveness is prized; multiple entry points for analysis and
advocacy are used; and the kind of participation that builds on the experience and energies of
everyday life, that draws from traditions, and that crosses boundaries and barriers, is
facilitated. This leads to richer reflection by way of multiple perspectives freely exchanged.
Most simply put this style of work is essentially a space and a method conducive to
building up local and regional cultures of life and articulating theologies indigenous to them.
The media may be storytelling, personal witness, Bible study and worship, analysis and
reflection, drama, songs, music, dance, exhibits or other forms. Substantively, the direction
overall is a decentralized one that nonetheless includes global perspectives, that seeks a
downward distribution of economic, social and political power, and that encourages a
heightened status for all forms of life, in, with and before God.
Ecclesiology and Ethics
The study process on Ecclesiology and Ethics was conducted jointly by
Faith and Order and Unit III. Laying aside stereotypes in order to find common ground, the
study tackled the tension between the search for the visible unity of the church and its call to
prophetic witness and service. It explored the relationship between what the church is and
what the church does. Ethical issues are inseparably linked to the very being of the
church. The essential marks of the church - apostolicity, unity and holiness - are in question
whenever the church justifies injustice of any kind. The study underlined the imperative for
ecumenical ethical reflection and engagement and offered important insights on the concepts
of the "household of life" and of the churches as communities in which moral formation takes
place through their teaching and through their life.
Unit III's Towards Reconstruction in Africa programme took three years to
evolve. It went through several stages, one of which included elaboration of a plan of action to
promote the concept of "the church in dialogue with African society". Two methodologies
were followed: dialogue through ecumenical studies and reflection, and dialogue through
ecumenical exchange visits within Africa and between Africans. Part of the harvest of the two
processes was offered at the conference on Jubilee and the African Kairos in May 1997 in
Johannesburg. The conference recommended more study, analysis and reflection on faith and
politics, faith and economics and mission and partnership.
During the period when the energy and resources of the
Programme to Combat Racism (PCR) were mainly focused on Southern Africa, the challenge
was to pinpoint the most appropriate descriptions of institutional (or, in the case of South
Africa, constitutional) racism, reinforced by personal prejudice and discrimination. As the
focus began to shift away from South Africa in recent years, understanding of the
manifestations of racism has significantly broadened.
PCR's earlier programmes depended heavily on analysis and proposals for action from large
international consultations of people from the regions and the PCR commission and staff.
While that methodology significantly helped work to eradicate the constitutional racism of
apartheid, it did little to encourage the churches to "look in their own backyards". People and
churches in many parts of the globe became experts on racism in South Africa but seldom
considered how the very same dynamics were present in their own countries. The challenge
now is to encourage member churches to analyze and act on racism in their own context as
sharply as they did in South Africa.
A thread running through the history of PCR has been the ties with churches and movements.
Links with anti-apartheid movements all over the world were very strong. With PCR's
encouragement, some of these movements began to work on racism in their own countries as
well. The commitment to maintain the ties between churches and movements remains. While
the commitment to "combat" racism remains, words like "support" and "initiatives" better
characterize the work now.
The Ecumenical Study Process on Racism. While the black-white paradigm is still
basic in the understanding of racism, new manifestations of racism have begun to emerge.
Increasing attention is being given to the global effects of racism, the dynamics of economic
and environmental racism and racism in the church and theology.
The WCC Central Committee noted in 1995 that "institutional racism and the ideology of
racism in their most pernicious forms continue unabated in contemporary societies and still
affect churches dramatically", while ongoing social, political and economic trends "are
producing new expressions of racism". Thus, an Ecumenical Study Process on Racism is being
developed to identify and analyze contemporary trends and manifestations of racism, with
special attention to regional understandings and experiences.
Contributing to this study are responses to a discussion starter on "What Is Racism Today?",
contemporary analyses from the regions and processes developed in the WCC's work on
Gospel and Cultures. This process, which will produce both global and regional documents,
will make a significant contribution to the debates at the eighth assembly and will inform the
WCC's future work on racism.
The US Campaign: Racism as a Violation of Human Rights. In 1994 the WCC and the
US National Council of Churches co-sponsored a year-long campaign to heighten awareness
of racism as violation of human rights. This campaign included educational activities and
hearings before an Eminent Persons Team who visited seven sites around the country, chosen
to highlight specific human rights violations affecting different ethnic and racial groups. The
issues covered by the hearings included immigration, self-determination, sovereignty, prison
conditions, sentencing, police brutality, the death penalty, political prisoners, education,
health, unemployment, housing, environmental racism and racist violence.
On the basis of the hearings the Eminent Persons Team concluded that "there is widespread
evidence of gross and consistent patterns of racism throughout the fabric of US society; many
of the acts of racism testified to... constitute apparent violations of fundamental human rights
as set out in international law." Follow-up work on the campaign has included interventions at
the UN Commission on Human Rights (1995), a resource packet for churches and movement
groups, and a WCC report on the campaign.
Women Under Racism (WUR) and the SISTERS Network. Women of colour
actively involved in the ecumenical movement called for a programme to analyze the triple
oppression women of colour suffer: racism, sexism and classism. Formed in 1980, the
programme gave priority in the Canberra to Harare period to two main objectives: (1)
mobilizing the churches to commitment and action in concrete solidarity with women of
colour; and (2) facilitating the networking of WUR in a global sisterhood to strategize
together against their triple oppression.
Workshops and meetings, circular letters, analysis and reflection led to a global gathering of
WUR in 1992, which was a major contribution to the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in
Solidarity with Women. On that occasion, the global network SISTERS - Sisters In Solidarity
To Eliminate Racism and Sexism - was formed in response to the call for more systematic
exchange of experiences and strategies and coalition-building. The regions reached are
Europe, Latin America, North America, the Pacific and, on a smaller scale, Asia and the
Caribbean.
Among the themes addressed at the workshops are the manifestations of racism in a given
region and its impacts on women's lives; links between racism and colonialism, casteism,
sexism, economics, migration; the lands and livelihoods of peoples and cultures; human rights
and citizenship; elements for a theology from women of colour. In the past few years WUR
has strengthened its cooperation with WCC member churches and REOs.
Ethnicity. Progress has been slow in developing a Council-wide understanding of the
parameters of this issue, partly due to general lack of critical analysis of the churches' role in
the development of ethno-nationalism.
The Unit III commission expressed disappointment at this slow development and called for
better definition and specific programme proposals. A subsequent WCC-wide staff
consultation revealed considerable existing programme work on this and related issues, taking
place in various ways in the offices on Inter-Religious Relations, Communication, Urban Rural
Mission, Education, Gospel and Culture, Refugees and Migration, and Emergencies. Unit III
has dealt with it in International Affairs (through mediation and consultations in conflict
situations), in PCR with ethnic minorities, in Women and in Youth.
The increasing number of ethnic conflicts and confrontations in the world obviously gives
added urgency to the issue. But work within the WCC lacks coordination. The 1994
consultation in Sri Lanka, in conjunction with LWF and WARC, set out a number of case
studies and a "challenge to the churches".
Indigenous Peoples Programme (IPP). In 1990 Indigenous Peoples' work received
renewed impetus from the WCC global consultation in Darwin, "Land is our Life". The
"Darwin Declaration" and the Canberra assembly statement on "Land and Indigenous Peoples:
Move Beyond Words" challenged the churches to take specific actions in sharing resources
with Indigenous Peoples and increasing Indigenous participation in church structures,
congregations and United Nations forums.
The methodologies used by the Indigenous Peoples Programme include sharing experiences,
analyzing issues collectively and reaching outcomes by consensus. Local, regional and global
workshops, encounters, conferences and consultations have aimed at building bridges among
Indigenous Peoples' organizations and churches and church-related organizations.
Indigenous Peoples' spiritualities were addressed as an holistic expression of life within
creation, which is threatened by the dominant societies. The WCC and the IPP brought leaders
together to dialogue and to begin to rebuild their hopes and visions of inclusive communities.
A permanent dialogue is in place on the theme of Christian theologies and Indigenous Peoples'
wisdom, with women and men elders maintaining the historical and cultural identities.
Indigenous Peoples have recognized that the Bible and the gospel have been captured by the
Western culture. They believe the essence of the gospel was misinterpreted and imposed on
them as the only one, with all others considered evil and satanic. Indigenous Peoples call
Christians to respect their way of encountering the good news.
Land and self-determination are of fundamental importance for the existence of Indigenous
Peoples. The WCC has encouraged churches to engage in dialogue with Indigenous Peoples in
their midst, exploring critically the history of their relations with Indigenous Peoples and
taking up the jubilee challenge "to restore to Indigenous Peoples or offer reparation for their
historical lands currently owned by churches".
The WCC's Youth Internship Programme has provided an opportunity for ecumenical
formation to two young adult women: a Maori from Aotearoa and a Sami from Norway. The
IPP has in turn been enriched by the presence of these young interns.
The participation of Indigenous Peoples in the UN forums is growing constantly. In addition
to providing some funds, the IPP has been facilitating annual Indigenous caucuses at the UN
Working Group on Indigenous Populations in July, the Working Group on the Draft
Declaration in October and the Commission on Human Rights in March/April.
Solidarity with the Dalit People of India. When the PCR commission met in Madras in
1989 and resolved to establish ties with Dalit communities in India, few could have projected
the direction such aspirations would take. Unit III has facilitated the establishment of Dalit
Solidarity Peoples, a movement of Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu Dalits
working in solidarity with each other- something not achieved before in India. The WCC's
chief role in this development has been to raise funds and draw international attention to the
issue.
The movement is now a significant actor in the struggle for social, political and economic
change to benefit these nearly 200 million Indians who endure systematic oppression because
they were born outside the caste system.
The importance of the WCC's witness in international affairs has
grown during this time of major transition in world history. Globalization has demanded more
analytical work on current global and regional trends, greater capacity to follow through
initiatives for peace and conflict resolution, and a focus on new challenges to human rights and
the rule of law.
WCC international affairs work includes both Council-wide international affairs (public issues)
and programme activities within the framework of Unit III.
Work on public issues includes:
.
While many controversial situations have been addressed, the WCC's statements and other
forms of response have generally been welcomed by churches in countries and regions affected
as helpful expressions of solidarity. In several particularly contentious areas (East Timor,
Sudan, China-Taiwan, the former Yugoslavia, the Great Lakes Region), meetings with church
representatives have brought parties closer together in their evaluation of the problems and of
possible ecumenical responses. CCIA's UN Headquarters Liaison Office in New York has
often provided crucial input and helped to establish ties with political affairs specialists
there.
Programme activities have involved the following broad areas of continuing concern:
Human rights. This work involves monitoring trends and specific situations in which
human rights are consistently violated or threatened. Close relationships must be developed
with churches, ecumenical bodies, church-related and other human rights organizations at all
levels, as well as intergovernmental bodies. Some situations require urgent action, including
pastoral or investigative missions. Other facets of the work are promotion and financial
support of new human rights initiatives and development of solidarity networks among
churches in the different regions.
Ecumenical participation in the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1995
was preceded by regional consultations; and the Global Review of Ecumenical Policy and
Practice in Human Rights has helped the unit to apply lessons from past work to current
involvements and to identify emerging trends in the field of human rights.
One of these trends has been the work on impunity. Case studies in Latin America,
meetings and contacts with groups in other parts of the world have shown this issue to be
critical not only for effective protection of human rights, but also in relation to peace,
reconciliation and conflict resolution. Specific work in the field of religious liberty has
made it clear that more needs to be done in this area, especially regarding the churches'
contribution to the public discussion of church-state relations, particularly in
transitional societies. Another emerging area is interfaith cooperation in the protection
of human rights.
Disarmament and the arms trade. The nuclear arms race, trade in conventional
weapons and militarization - areas in which the WCC has done landmark work in the past -
continue to be important concerns.
At the beginning of the period a consultation was held on the trade in conventional weapons,
and guidelines were developed for action by the churches to counter it. Particularly critical
issues are the commerce in conventional weapons to areas of open or potential conflict, and
the accumulation of weapons in private hands. Special attention is being given to developing
practical guidelines for the churches in the area of micro-disarmament.
Peace and conflict resolution. No field has been more demanding in the post-Canberra
period than this one. The proliferation of conflicts in the former Soviet Union and in Africa has
required intensive attention, also because of the new and more complex character of conflicts.
The ethnic conflicts which have re-emerged in several parts of the world often involve the
churches directly. New forms of narrow nationalism have developed. The expectations of the
churches and governing bodies that the WCC be a direct mediator of conflicts have risen
greatly.
A study was initiated on the role of economic sanctions and in 1995 the Central Committee
adopted policy guidelines on their application.
A great deal of work has been done in search of effective church and ecumenical involvement
in conflict resolution in the former Yugoslavia, in Armenia and Azerbaijan, East Timor, Sri
Lanka and Cyprus. In Africa, special attention has gone to conflicts in Angola, Mozambique,
Sierra Leone, the Horn of Africa and Sudan, and especially in the Great Lakes region. The
WCC participated in the process of negotiation in Guatemala, and similar work has been
developed in Colombia and Haiti. It organized ecumenical teams to monitor elections in South
Africa and Palestine and worked on the question of the final status of Jerusalem.
Programme to Overcome Violence. The Central Committee set up the Programme to
Overcome Violence (POV) in January 1994 in response to the rising worldwide tide of
violence and the longing for peace with justice. Its focus is on the building of a culture of
peace through practical means of overcoming violence at different levels of society and on
encouraging the churches to play a leading role in using nonviolent means such as prevention,
mediation, intervention and education appropriate to their particular contexts. The POV can
be regarded as a broad framework within which the efforts of the churches and other groups
can find their own place.
The POV has undertaken a study process with Faith and Order to look at the theological and
ecclesiological dimensions of violence and nonviolence and the powerful resources offered by
the Christian faith in building cultures of peace.
Launched by the WCC Central Committee in September 1996, the "Peace to the City"
campaign is a two-year global initiative within the POV which will culminate at the eighth
assembly. The campaign concentrates on seven cities around the world where imaginative
efforts are being made to overcome violence through cross-community work. These creative
models of peace-building and reconciled communities are being highlighted in order to:
Key to the success of the campaign have been new methodologies for partnership and
communication. Local campaign partners have come from a variety of Christian, secular and
interfaith organizations beyond groups normally associated with the ecumenical movement. To
communicate the aims and progress of the campaign and to expand networks for peace and
justice work, an interactive World Wide Web site has been developed for sharing regularly
updated information and resources and providing a forum for other groups and individuals to
share their work and ideas. An e-mail list server, newsletters, books and videos are also part of
the communication strategy for the campaign.
Global governance. The tone for the work on global governance during this period was
set by the pointed questions raised in the Canberra assembly resolution on the Gulf War about
the post-cold war "new world order" and its effects on the institutions of the United Nations.
The statement on "Contemporary Challenges to Africa" adopted by the Central Committee in
Johannesburg (1994) laid the groundwork for consideration of "democracy" in a transition
period of world history, both with respect to international behaviour and the implications for
governance at regional, national and local levels.
Work with the UN Human Rights Commission and Sub-commission continued. Several teams
of Units III and IV were involved. Interventions were prepared on a range of country issues,
often inviting persons from the respective countries to speak or work with delegations.
Cooperation was developed with the special rapporteurs on the issue of impunity for past
crimes against humanity.
An unprecedented number of UN world conferences were organized during this period, and
the WCC was involved with six of these: Rio de Janeiro (environment and development),
Cairo (population and development), Vienna (human rights), Beijing (women and
development), Copenhagen (world social summit) and Rome (world food conference).
The first thorough survey and evaluation of WCC relations with the UN system in nearly two
decades was carried out during 1995. Among other things, this review highlighted the
importance of the UN Headquarters Liaison Office in New York. Assistance was given to
several WCC programmes in relation to their work vis-a-vis the UN. New efforts were made
to develop working relations with the UN secretariats on humanitarian affairs and
peace-keeping. The UN increasingly recognizes the essential contributions of
nongovernmental
organizations, and particularly of the WCC and its member churches, to both policy-formation
and field-level operations.
The post-cold war environment has obliged CCIA to provide a wide range of background
notes helping to identify new challenges to the churches. It has been crucial to prep
A particular mark of this period has been the intertwining of concerns for human rights, peace,
conflict resolution, arms issues and global governance.
The cities are Belfast, Northern Ireland; Boston, USA; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Durban, South
Africa; Kingston, Jamaica; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Suva, Fiji.
Programme work on this theme has used a variety of
methodologies: networks (regional as well as on specific topics); exchanges and
communication; campaigns (such as the climate change petition); study and reflection;
education, training and formation; farming out specific tasks (e.g. regarding climate change,
civil society, Bretton Woods institutions); innovative methodologies (e.g. contextual biblical
and theological reflection).
In developing its programmes, the team favoured a decentralized style of work, starting from
local initiatives and involving member churches, Regional Ecumenical Organizations, network
partners and agencies. The programme activities were grouped under three broad headings:
Life in Creation, Life in Community and Towards Economies of Life.
Life in Creation
A major conference under the title "Searching for the New Heavens and New Earth" was
organized alongside the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (UNCED). This ecumenical
gathering rooted itself in Baixada Fluminense, a community outside Rio where issues of
economics, environment and racism are daily realities for the majority of people. The meeting
had an energizing effect on participants and their work in various places; and the link between
the local situation of people struggling for life and the global agenda became an overarching
concern of the work on Life in Creation. Increasingly the WCC questioned the misuse of the
term "sustainable development" to legitimize current economic approaches which are
premised on unlimited economic growth and a continuous and unregulated expansion of
production and consumption by the world's rich. Future work needs to address the conflict
between the quest for socially just and sustainable communities and the expansion of world
trade.
The covenant on global warming and environment at the Seoul JPIC convocation in 1990
called for further WCC work on climate change. This programme successfully developed a
decentralized style of work which strengthened linkages between the WCC and regional
networks. A series of consultations helped to improve the approach and reflect on the social
idea of just and sustainable communities. A petition campaign to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions was organized in cooperation with the Christian world communions and other
ecumenical and environmental organizations.
Life in Community
There were three programmatic lines in this area of concern: Networks: Social
Movements, Globalization, Exclusion. In the period of global change and upheavals
following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the WCC has encouraged new initiatives, organized
exchanges and given support for training and research. Two regional networks were
dismantled; five new ones came into existence. Linkages to new partner groups were built up.
The WCC has strengthened its role as facilitator, enabler and catalyzer of networks, always
seeking an adequate response to the question of how to work with the agenda of the networks
and groups in regions while maintaining close relationships with its own programmes.
Meetings organized from Geneva were not the appropriate instrument for this. The
programme had to develop a decentralized approach in order to facilitate meaningful
processes in the regions and affirm the role of social movements in the life of the ecumenical
movement. At the same time the networks have valued the WCC as an international
organization facing issues of globalization and promoting spaces of encounter across
diversities.
Civil Society and Life in Community. This programme was implemented in response to
the search for new social paradigms by many partners in the regions. The work has been done
in cooperation with partners in Germany, Korea, USA and South Africa. The main instrument
used until 1995 was the "Corresponding Academy", a joint effort with the Evangelical
Academy of Loccum, Germany, and the Vesper Society (USA). A major thrust in the
programme was to encourage and facilitate local initiatives involving churches in the areas of
democracy, conflict resolution and economic alternatives. Special emphasis was given to
South Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, East Africa and Cuba.
Biblical and Theological Reflections from People's Perspectives. This programme was
designed to animate people to do theology and read the Bible in daily life. A successful
methodology was developed in Latin America that could be shared with other regions. Biblical
scholars were asked to develop a new hermeneutic and to provide training capacities. Around
240 local animators were trained. A new global programme on biblical pedagogy was started
in 1997. The theological programme began in 1994 with a meeting that brought together
theologians related to the "Kairos" and "Road to Damascus" processes. The idea was to
animate local theological reflections as much as possible. A number of important activities
were organized, including "From Kairos to Jubilee" in the USA, theological reflection in
Kairos Europe and a process on Theology and Culture in the Caribbean, Latin America and
Asia.
Towards Economies of Life
.
The WCC began work on the debt issue already in the early 1980s in close cooperation with
partners in the South and with the Center of Concern in Washington. The Council sought to
help member churches to understand the origins of the crisis and to explore possible
alternatives, against the background of considerable critique of the churches' involvement in
financial matters even within the churches themselves. Beginning in 1997, the Jubilee 2000
initiative has given new impetus to ecumenical work on this issue.
Recognizing that the debt problem must be approached in the context of developments in the
world economic system as a whole and the financial sector in particular, Unit III supported an
ambitious programme of the Center of Concern in Washington to explore possible alternatives
to the so-called Bretton Woods institutions: the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund. The 50th anniversary of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1994 was an occasion to call
together a number of action groups and research organizations for a meeting in Washington,
which provided a platform for exchange of information, comparison of analyses and strategies,
and identification of possible common actions.
Education for JPIC
Out of such exploration have come several resources for churches and groups, highlighting
insights from women, the younger generation, Indigenous Peoples and educators in local
communities:
This work concentrated on an ecumenical response to the UNCED process
(Rio 1992), global warming and accelerated climate change, and theological reflection on JPIC
in the framework of a Theology of Life.
Since the beginning of the 1990s three important concerns have emerged: a
critique of the understanding of development in a new global reality; new challenges for
international cooperation; and the need for new ways to strengthen the self-reliance of
ecumenical organizations. "Discerning the Way Together" was an initiative by donor agencies,
in cooperation with the WCC, to respond to the new situation. Another approach was chosen
by partners in Latin America who started a creative research project on the economic viability
of ecumenical organizations.
The study document on Christian Faith and the World Economy
Today, translated into nine languages, provided the framework for much of the WCC's
work on economic issues in the 1990s. It was used in numerous encounters to stimulate
reflection and action on the relationship between Christian faith and economics, which became
an increasingly crucial dimension of a Christian response to the accelerated process of
globalization
With the different Unit III programmes undertaking various educational
processes around their own issues and themes, Education for JPIC focused on exploring the
methodological challenges and implications of the unit's work. To do this, it was necessary to
coordinate with education desks in other units and to engage in inter-regional and regional
evaluation of education processes. The results revealed certain shifts in perspectives and
approaches, and underscored the need for a multi-dimensional approach to education,
particularly in contexts where globalization is having an immeasurable impact on people's
lives. Of particular significance has been the challenge posed by feminist theory and praxis to
the nature and content of education. Questions of sexuality, power, identity, culture, gender,
age, race, ethnicity and environment were thus predominant themes in the inter-related
processes undertaken in Education for JPIC.
The WCC has been committed to women from the outset, and there
has been programmatic work on issues related to women in church and society for over 40
years. Since 1988 the major framework for this has been the Ecumenical Decade of the
Churches in Solidarity with Women. In carrying out Decade activities, the WCC has benefited
from the contributions of the growing church and secular women's movements around the
world. It was these movements which challenged the WCC to launch the Decade, and it is the
energy of women that has kept the Decade alive.
Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with
Women
First, the group identified four major issues that could be embraced by the Decade, with the
request that each member church act on these issues in the context of its own concerns for
solidarity:
Between 1994 and 1996 a programme of team visits to member churches was undertaken.
This ambitious programme sent out 75 teams of four members (two men and two women)
drawn from the member churches, to meet with member churches, Christian councils, and
church and secular women's organizations. This process culminated with a visit to the WCC
itself. The purpose of the visits was to assess how the aims of the Decade have been integrated
into the life of the churches, to identify obstacles to change and to challenge the churches to
take a clear stand in implementing commitments made to women. These "Living Letters", as
the teams were called, visited over 330 churches, 68 national Christian councils and 650
women's groups and organizations in all regions of the world. The visits sought to bring to the
consciousness of each member church, in its local reality, the global and ecumenical challenge
to ensure the full and creative participation of women in the life of the churches and in society.
The team visits have also provided support; and all have made visible the decades of courage
and faithfulness of women through their organized work at local, national and regional
levels.
The Decade has been successful because it has sharpened women's voices in the churches and
given women the space organize and make their concerns known. Most significantly, it
provided a vision for the WCC's work and an important methodology for the Council's
relations with churches and with other networks. It has emphasized that local experiences are
important and significant in understanding the role the WCC can play as an international
organization.
Other activities
The Rural Women's Development Programme has continued to support women's initiatives,
guided by the two basic principles that these small grants must express solidarity among
women and contribute to women's empowerment. At the same time, a series of regional
workshops has taken place under the theme "Women and Economic Justice", which is one of
the four main foci of the Decade. Participants in these workshops have come from a variety of
organizations- governments, NGOs, church and civic groups - which are facing in different
ways the negative impact of globalization and economic liberalization on their communities in
general and on women in particular.
Women in conflict situations. The WCC has a long history of standing with
disadvantaged communities faced with injustice in all its manifestations. The women's
programme has continued this through a number of pastoral and fact-finding
women-to-women visits to several countries - including South Africa, the former Yugoslavia,
Rwanda
and Burundi - to express solidarity and focus attention on a basic principle for human
development and growth: the need for peace with justice.
Violence against women. Regional consultations on violence against women (Bali,
Indonesia, 1993; San José, Costa Rica, 1993; Nyeri, Kenya, 1994; Western Samoa,
Pacific,
1994; Ballycastle, UK, 1994; Ayia Napa, Cyprus, 1995; Bolton, Canada, 1996) brought
together the voices of women demanding a safe and violence-free society and world in order
to move towards preparing a global agenda of action for the churches on this issue. Women
spoke of the escalation of violence against women caused by political and military conflicts,
economic crises brought about by burgeoning debt and structural adjustment policies, and
cultural and religious traditions and practices. Such violence takes many forms: domestic
violence, prostitution and pornography, sexual harassment and sexual abuse, also in the
church, as well as more subtle expressions such as psychological violence. Strategies were
developed to deal with the violence both in society and the church. A global meeting in 1997
drew together the variety of insights and testimonies from women in the regions.
Women in the ecumenical movement. Two important meetings of women who have
been active in the life of the ecumenical movement, locally and globally, were held in
September 1992 and January 199- and how it has occasionally been a difficult experience for
them. The meetings made a major contribution to developing forward-looking strategies on
the challenges emerging from the Decade.
Meetings of Orthodox Christian women. Two important meetings of women of the
Orthodox churches were organized in the context of the Decade - in Damascus in October
1996 and in Istanbul in May 1997. More than 100 women from Orthodox churches in Asia,
the Middle East, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, North and South America and Africa
reflected on the impact the Decade has had on the Orthodox churches and on Orthodox
women. The meetings identified the ways in which Orthodox Christian women view doctrinal
issues and the ministerial roles of women in the churches, and emphasized the gifts that they
bring to their communities, families and churches as they grow up Orthodox and female.
Some future directions
A conspicuous challenge for the future which the Decade has brought to light is that the issues
of racism and xenophobia have not yet received adequate attention in the churches or in
women's organizations. Moreover, the work on exposing the issue of violence against women
has revealed the need for a sharp and focused WCC response to this. The WCC must continue
to play a challenging role, drawing out an ecclesiological and ethical response to violence
against women and providing a credible programme at the global level.
By 1992, as the midpoint of the Decade approached it was apparent that an
initiative which was to have addressed the churches' commitment to women had in fact
become a decade of women in solidarity with each other, or even of women in solidarity with
the churches. The question posed was how to "give the Decade back to the churches" and
how to support women in the regions in their efforts. A group of women from the regions
who met in Geneva proposed two ways in which this could be done.
The second proposal was that the WCC organize ecumenical team visits to all member
churches to assess with them how far they have come in their commitments to women.
Women and development. In the past ten years or so, in the context
of the Decade, this programme has sought to develop women's capacity for self-organization,
which together with democratization provides an environment in which sustainable
development can become a reality. The programme has worked at this through both short- and
long-term strategies.
The WCC's commitment to women must continue. The Decade process, if
anything, has raised the hopes for support and follow-up which women have of the ecumenical
movement. The focus must be on "justice in community", both as an ecclesiological imperative
and as a reality in society. There is also a need to continue an advocacy role, supporting
women in the churches in their struggles to achieve greater levels of participation in
decision-making structures, in theology and theological education, in ecumenical education in
congregations and communities, and in other forms of ministry.
In many ways the period since the Canberra assembly has been a
watershed for youth work in the WCC. The seventh assembly said clearly that youth concerns
needed to be taken seriously in the work of the WCC, and this was echoed by the commission
meeting in Evian in 1992. The years since Canberra have challenged the WCC to express its
stated commitment to youth in very tangible ways. While it is emphasized that youth is not
only a concern of a single unit or staff team but also of the Council as a whole, the past period
has shown that there is clear need to question the work of the other units in the Council on
youth
The Ecumenical Global Gathering of Youths and Students (EGGYS), in 1993, was
expected to be a process of deepened ecumenical cooperation among ten youth and student
organizations, including the WCC. It provided the opportunity for networking and joint action
by national, regional and global partners to work on issues of common concern among youth.
However the follow-up of EGGYS, after all the human and financial investment at every level,
has been disappointing. This is particularly significant when one recalls how much expectation
and energy the four-year preparatory process for EGGYS had built up around the world.
The World Youth Projects Programme (WYP) has been the framework for much of
the work of the WCC Youth Office and in regional ecumenical youth networks in the period
under review. The four parts to the WYP are:
The Youth and HIV/AIDS programme led to a joint workshop on HIV/AIDS
organized by the youth offices of the Lutheran World Federation and the WCC in Namibia in
1993. This workshop, which brought together 27 young people from all the regions, led to the
production of two resources on HIV/AIDS to be used by young people in the member
churches of both organizations: a brochure "AIDS - Why We Care", and the resource book
Making Connections, Facing AIDS. Both have helped to stimulate discussion on this
issue and are serving as a tool for beginning the conversations in many groups in different
parts of the world.
I Am Worthy": Young Women Demand a Violence-Free World sought to develop
more effective ecumenical leadership among young women at national, regional and global
levels. The programme included annual global planning and review meetings, a global festival
in Fiji in November 1994, and the participation of young women from the ecumenical
movement in the UN world conference for women (Beijing 1995). The theme of the process
transformed the concern for violence against women into an affirmation of the dignity of
young women as agents of change and full participants in the ecumenical youth movement.
The success of the process has been measured in a stronger presence and contribution of
young women to ecumenical youth work in all regions.
The Youth Peace and Justice Campaign and Youth in Conflict Situations
programmes allowed for encounters between young people living in situations of conflict in
order to establish networks of cooperation and to provide insights and resources for breaking
down the sense of isolation and hopelessness. The ecumenical youth movement could play a
pro-active role in bringing the fruits of young people's practical experience and skills in
peacemaking to places where latent tension threatens to turn into open conflict. A further
concern was to bring out the perspectives of young people on war, conflict, peace and justice.
The focal points of the engagement on youth in conflict situations were Africa, the Middle
East and
Youth, Gospel, Cultures and Identity involved young people in the preparatory process
for the WCC's 1996 world conference on mission and evangelism. Young people reflected on
their own cultures in the context of new mission impulses, increasing threats of religious
fundamentalism and xenophobia. These explorations helped to develop a critical understanding
of the interconnection between gospel and cultures and the forces which shape the identity of
young people.
The WCC Stewards Programme, which has brought more than 1500 young people to
serve as stewards at assemblies, Central Committees and conferences since 1948, was
reorganized during this period to become a more intentional programme of ecumenical youth
formation. A mandatory orientation session, generally three to four days, has become an
integral part of the stewards programme.
The WCC Youth Internship Programme provides opportunities for young people to
work at the WCC (Geneva and New York offices) for up to twelve months as a means of
training and form - bring fresh voices and visions to the WCC's work. A recent evaluation has
suggested that the internship process is a model of ecumenical youth formation which should
be continued in the WCC as well as in the regions.
