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The first webinar, “The Church in and for the world - the Church in mission,” was held 21 June, and presented two themes out of the 16, focusing on chapter four of the publication, and the church and mission.
Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, moderator of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, gave his response to the themes, noting that the traditional ways of presenting theology may not in fact be reaching local communities equally.
“The silence of the Global South here is loud,” he said, as an example. “How much of the text and publications that are produced actually reach and have an impact on the grassroots level?”
Rev. Dr Susan Durber, of the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom and moderator of the WCC Faith and Order Commission, related the text to the purpose of the commission.
“Since there ever was a church or churches, Christians have talked about what it means to be the church and this conversation has been marked by disagreement and also convergence and agreement,” she said.
Rev. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, of the Church of Norway and member of the Faith and Order Commission, reflected that, there is, in the text, “an attempt to develop visible unity in faith, service and sacramental life, and to bind together the different aspects of unity and visible unity through this approach to the church understanding.”
Rev. Dr Glenroy Lalor, of the Jamaica Baptist Union and member of the Faith and Order Commission, said that in reviewing the document, and going through the responses, areas and themes, that “many of the churches in their response expressed appreciation that “The Church: Towards a Common Vision” sought to build on the insights developed over the years.
The series, which will comprise eight webinars, is being produced by the commission’s study group on ecclesiology. With the first three webinars planned for 2021, the remaining will take place in 2022 leading up to the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.
New publication: "What Are the Churches Saying About the Church?"
