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With prayers, singing, gifts and speeches of thanks, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee offered its farewell to outgoing general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia on Sunday 30 August.
The events began with an afternoon prayer service at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, where hundreds of delegates, staff, and visitors packed the Centre’s chapel. The service had a distinct international flavour with songs from a variety of cultures, and languages from Aramaic to Swahili.
Delivering the sermon, Rev. Dr Bernice Powell Jackson, the WCC president from North America, noted the brokenness occurring in many places around the globe and thanked Kobia for his leadership “as an unwavering witness for justice and peace in the world on behalf of the World Council of Churches”.
Sharing from her experience in the African-American tradition in the United States, Powell Jackson told a folk story culminating in the reminder that each of us is born to fly but has forgotten how. According to African tradition, the incantation Kulibah restores this ability, and encourages us to soar. “So Kulibah, Sam”, she said. “Go out in joy, and be led back home in peace.”
Following the service, the congregation moved to the WCC’s Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, near Geneva. There Kobia and his wife Ruth were presented with an impressive array of gifts from the churches in each of the WCC’s regions, as well as a number of personal testimonies.
The moderator of the Central Committee, Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, expressed gratitude to Kobia for “all the services rendered with diligence and compassion”. He also highlighted how deeply meaningful for the churches involved were the extensive pastoral visits undertaken by the outgoing general secretary.
The Central Committee vice-moderator Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima spoke about Kobia’s many charismas, highlighting amongst them serenity and kindness. He also conveyed words of appreciation from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.
WCC president Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, presented Kobia with a book containing handwritten prayers and good wishes from Central Committee members.
The Middle East Council of Churches general secretary Guirguis Saleh spoke of Kobia as a man of wisdom and friendship and thanked him for his support to the region as well as his commitment to Muslim-Christian dialogue. WCC Central Committee member Bishop Nareg Alemezian brought a special message from Catholicos Aram I, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (See of Cilicia) and former moderator of the WCC Central Committee.
The WCC president from Latin America and the Caribbean, Rev. Dr Ofelia Ortega, expressed gratitude for Kobia’s visits to the Caribbean region which helped to improve relationships between churches.
“I feel honoured and very proud of being your successor,” the WCC general secretary-elect Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit told Kobia.
Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi, the Vatican’s observer to the UN in Geneva, thanked Kobia for advancing church relationships beyond structural and organizational ties. “Together we will continue to move forward,” he said.
Many special words of appreciation were expressed to Ruth Kobia for her engagement in the movement. As one speaker put it, “You are a woman of courage; you are brave.”
“You are on the right track to become an ecumenical saint,” Rev. Dr Fernando Enns told Kobia, speaking on behalf of the European region. Representatives from other regions commended Kobia for his commitment to interfaith dialogue, ecological issues, as well as his ability to listen sympathetically.
“Africa is proud of you. Welcome back home!” said Rev. Dr André Karamaga, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, a former member of the WCC staff.
In his response and words of thanks, Kobia expressed gratitude for what he said was the “tremendous privilege” to serve the ecumenical movement over four decades. For Kobia, leaving the position of WCC general secretary is by no means the end of his continuing ecumenical journey.
“We still have so much to do together,” he said.
More information on the 26 August - 2 September 2009 Central Committee meeting