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Ecumenical learning is learning in community. People are asked to establish relationships with one another, and also with those who are far away and with what is unfamiliar. Ecumenical learning means learning together. People have to detect the global in the local, the unfamiliar in the context of their own environment, in order to become aware of their own conditions and implications. Ecumenical learning also means inter-cultural learning. It seek to promote the encounter of different cultures, traditions and forms of life because only a widening of perspective will bring about an experience of the riches of creation in nature, history and culture. Finally, ecumenical learning is a total process: social and religious learning are not separated from one another but constitute a unity.
Pedagogically, ecumenical learning moves from teaching about to learning together with. Hence, the WCC is particularly interested in holistic education -- a style of education which relates to whole people living in communities. This is in contrast to traditional educational activity which is concerned with particular age groups (e.g. children), kinds of learning (i.e. emotional development, intellectual knowledge or skills training) or sectors of society (i.e. economic or social elites).
The WCC seeks to promote ecumenical learning through the following programmatic lenses:
 lay participation towards inclusive community
Communities of faith seek to be inclusive of women and men, of different generations, of persons with disabilities, of people from diverse cultures, etc. Churches are rich with the human resources -- the lay members of parishes and congregations. The WCC helps churches recognize and realize this potential. Click here for more information on the laity and the ecumenical movement.
Christian nurture in an ecumenical context
Families, local congregations, church-related schools, etc. are all environments in which Christian faith is nurtured. Increasingly, these traditional contexts are multi-cultural, multi-confessional and even multi-religious. The WCC helps churches learn from one another's experience through a congregational partnership programme (see report on a February 2001 Asia regional consultation on Ecumenical Learning in Partnership, and report on a February 2001 African regional consultation on Learning ecumenically through congregational partnerships and exchanges). Christian believers can learn to live creatively in multi-cultural and multi-religious situations. The WCC supports churches working together to produce ecumenical Christian education curricula and in family life education programmes.
ecumenical theological education
Theological education, including the training of ministers and priests, is a significant activity in most churches. Through the Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) network, the team assists churches in bringing new life to this task. We encourage reflection on the nature of ministry (lay, ordained and collective) so that appropriate ways of equipping people for mission and ministry in today's world can be developed.
ETE's work is strongly influenced by the ecumenical movement's re-discovery of the church as the people of God. It asks what lessons may be learned from the basic Christian communities, which are actually living the idea of church as the people of God? In recent years ETE's work has supported innovative programmes in theological education such as original and contextual reflection in curriculum development, the training of theological educators, the development of alternative forms of theological education such as extension education and context relevant and responsive training programmes, intra- and inter-regional exchange of students and faculty. Women in ministry and theology is a continuing area of study. |
Ministerial Formation
a quarterly journal