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Churches need a “holistic and inclusive vision of just peace” in the face of national and international conflicts, the moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr Agnes Abuom, said at an international peace consultation in Berlin.
“Each generation has its challenges and its chances,” she told the consultation, meeting in the German capital from 28 September to 1 October. “Ours is to work to become just peace churches.”
The theme of the four-day ecumenical gathering was “How to become a Just Peace Church – Social Change and the Renewal of the Churches through the Spirit of a Just Peace.” It drew 82 people, including 20 international participants.
In her address, Abuom highlighted the work of churches in the search for peace in South Sudan and in Colombia, and the role of the WCC as a facilitator in these processes. Such involvement “requires the kind of networking and presence in national and international contexts that the WCC can muster as a fellowship of churches worldwide”, Abuom stated.
The consultation was organized by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Evangelical Action for Peace, and the Protestant Academies of Villigst and Berlin. Participants from Germany also included representatives of various denominations including Mennonites, Free Churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
Abuom described the meeting as a “milestone on the pilgrimage of justice and peace” launched at the WCC’s 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013.
An important insight from the ecumenical discussions is the need for “a more holistic and inclusive vision of just peace in community, with the earth, in the marketplace, and among the nations”, she said.
Rev. Renke Brahms, the EKD’s commissioner for peace issues, spoke of the reports and images from the Syrian conflict of people dying, suffering, and fleeing from continuing bombardments.
“The world has been left stunned by this terror and is unable to find a path to peace,” he said, underlining the need to be aware of other conflicts as well as the one in Syria.
“All conflicts have to do with economic injustice, with feelings of hopelessness among peoples, and unrestrained desire for power", Brahms stated.
Peace is at the very centre of the gospel, he said, speaking of the need to explore what this means within an ecumenical fellowship, among church leaders, as well as for grassroots groups, communities, networks and congregations. “Peace begins with small steps.”
