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"The prayer of Jesus that his disciples may be one so that the world may believe (John 17:21) takes on new urgency in view of the challenges peoples and churches are facing today", said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, in welcoming a delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Tveit was one of three general secretaries of world ecumenical organizations who met with the ELCA group of clergy and lay leaders in Geneva, Switzerland, on 15-16 February, providing perspectives on their work and how it interacts with the ELCA's ecumenical vision.
The 12-member ELCA delegation just concluded a two-week "2010 Ecumenical Journey" led by the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The group visited Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic world leaders. The ELCA is a founding member of the WCC.
Tveit told the ELCA delegation that Jesus' prayer for unity "is not only a word of information, but it is a word of transformation. That is what we do here – you're not only here to be informed, but you're here to make a difference."
Among the current challenges that need to be taken on by the ecumenical movement, Tveit mentioned the consequences of the financial crisis, full participation of the younger generation, relationships with Evangelicals and Pentecostal and charismatic churches, inter-religious dialogue and co-operation, and the environmental crisis.
Concentrating on the "unique added values of the WCC," Tveit said: "I think the ecumenical movement must be much clearer in that it is a movement that carries the cross. We are called to 'be one' even when this cross is a very heavy one to carry."
The ELCA delegation also met with the Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, who spoke about the LWF preparations for its 11th Assembly, 20-27 July, in Stuttgart, Germany.
Noko characterized the assembly as a "landmark" and a "turning point" because of expected ecumenical actions to be taken and consideration of the LWF Renewal Report. Among them is a statement of reconciliation with churches of the Anabaptist family, whose violent persecution was theologically supported by Lutheran reformers.
The ELCA delegation met with the Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, general secretary, World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) which is bound to become the World Communion of Reformed Churches, representing more than 80 million Reformed Christians worldwide, after its merger with the Reformed Ecumenical Council in June.
Nyomi told the ELCA delegation that the churches of WARC are "your other cousins." He added that the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 is an occasion that will be commemorated by Reformed churches throughout the world, as well as by Lutherans. "It bears Luther's name, but it is our common identity," he said.
The ELCA delegation also met representatives of the ACT Alliance and the Anglican Communion, and visited WCC's Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, near Geneva.