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Diseases such as AIDS today, or leprosy in earlier times, push those suffering from them to the margins of society - or keep them within society, provided there is some guarantee that everyone else will be safe. These diseases are of such nightmarish proportions that this social logic seems well-founded. So of course it sounds like sheer absurdity when we hear the witness of the monasticism of the Egyptian desert (ca. 5th c.). Abba Agathon, we are told, was aflame with such love that he wanted to find a leper and exchange his own body for that of the leper!

I was born into a Christian home, the daughter and granddaughter of Pentecostal pastors. I was brought up and educated with love and devotion, being the youngest child with two older brothers.

From childhood I was given instruction on the Christian way and learned to love Jesus. When I came to an understanding of the plan of salvation, I was baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues.

This presentation is made within the overall theme of CWME, which is "Called in Christ to be reconciling and healing communities". The emphasis of the plenary is on "community. And the way community life may or may not have healing and reconciling quality and effect. I have attempted to explore this in the light of persons with disabilities in the contemporary church and society.

This paper offers reflections on mission as ministry of reconciliation from an ecumenical point of view and is shared by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches as a document for reflection and study in preparation for the world mission conference in Athens in May 2005.

In a time of globalization with increasing violence, fragmentation and exclusion, the mission of the church is to receive, celebrate, proclaim and work for reconciliation, healing and fullness of life in Christ. Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile

The United Evangelical Mission (UEM) is an international mission organisation, which came into being in June 1996. This is a communion of churches in three regions (Africa, Asia and Germany). It comprises of 33 churches and one institution - Anstalt Bethel in Bielefeld Germany. Among the 33 churches, 12 are from Africa, 15 from Asia and 6 from Germany. Historically these churches in Africa and Asia were former "mission fields" of Rheinish Mission, Bethel Mission and Zaire Mission - all former German mission societies. Together with the German churches linked with these mission societies, the Asian and African churches have established UEM to be an instrument for their common goal of learning from one another and sharing their faith together.

We request our churches in Korea, Japan and Germany to work locally for the remembrance of history and the transmission of insights gained thereby to the next generation.

We therefore request our congregations to work for a situation where the wrongdoing, which in some cases has only just come to light, is not repressed, and call upon them to seek solutions in cooperation with the responsible politicians and citizens' action groups.

The Conference "Mission in the 21st Century. Mission as Evangelism in Tension with Mission as Development", was held from 25 March to 1 April 2004 and was organised by the United Theological College of Zambia (UTCZ).

The purpose of the Conference was to explore and examine the commonalities and tensions between mission as evangelism and mission as development as it has been, and is being, experienced in many of the once politically colonised and the presently economically colonised countries of the south.

The goals were to understand and appreciate the gift of mission as evangelism and the gift of mission as development from a variety of contexts; to identify, and begin to understand and grapple with the complexities of the issues that we face as a world church; to hear from each of the continents, and begin to understand their focus for mission as evangelism, as we discern the relevance of this understanding for our own work and to interact with a wide variety of people and understandings of mission as evangelism.

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself,
and gave us the minsitry of reconciliation.” 2 Cor.5.18
We bring you greetings of Salam from the Mother-City of our faith, from Jerusalem. These greetings come from all who have been baptised in the name of Jesus, most of whom are Arab Palestinian Christians, who have kept the faith for close on 2000 years.

On behalf of the Orthodox Church of Greece, and at the same time on behalf of all the people of Athens and of all Greece, it is with great joy and fraternal love that I welcome here in Athens all the participants of the XIII Conference on World Mission and Evangelism of WCC. In this Paschal period, almost ten days after the celebration of the Holy Easter and the Resurrection of Christ allow me to greet you all with the ancient and existential greeting which constitutes the core of our identity and witness as Christians: XPICTOC ANECTH, Christ is Risen!

First, I wish to extend my profound thanks - and those of the World Council of Churches - to the Church of Greece, as well as the churches of Greece, for their invitation to hold the first mission conference of the new millennium in Athens where the apostle Paul proclaimed the gospel boldly, while still showing respect for the culture of Athens and the traditions held precious by the Greeks.

When the Apostle Paul stood in front of the Areopagus, he began by connecting with the spirituality of the ancient Athenians, affirming their search for God and the spiritual awareness of their poets. Paul attempted to use the Athenians' spiritual language to tell about the Creator God and about Jesus and his resurrection. At the same time he discerned a spirit of idolatry which prevented repentance and practical obedience to the Holy Spirit of God (Acts 17:16-34).

As We Begin…

During the one-hundred years of the modern Pentecostal-charismatic movement, it has made many impacts on Christianity in general, but its role in mission is extremely significant. The explosive growth of churches, particularly in the non-western continents, is but one example. As discussed below, there are several important roles of the Holy Sprit that are evident in the mission practices of Pentecostal-charismatic believers.

Report and communiqué of the Urban Rural Mission Conference in Accra, Ghana, 1-7 May 2004

The renewed concern and awareness towards healing in a new world context raises for the churches fundamental theological, missiological, ethical and pastoral questions that require critical scrutiny. My approach will be missiological. I will discuss healing as the transforming, empowering and reconciling missionary action of the church.

The present document has been prepared by a multicultural and interdenominational group of missiologists, medical doctors and health professionals. It builds upon the tradition of the WCC's Christian Medical Commission (CMC) and its most fruitful contribution to an understanding of the healing ministry of the church. This document does not repeat what remains well formulated in earlier texts of the World Council of Churches, such as the document "Healing and Wholeness. The churches' Role in Health", adopted in 1990 by the Central Committee.

The theme of the 2005 Conference on Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches leads us to reflect on the spirit of Jesus Christ as healer and reconciler. Pastoral counselling as a ministry of healing and reconciliation is among the most important aspects of the church's work.

The "young missiologists consultation" was organised by the Mission and Ecumenical Formation Team of the World Council of Churches, on behalf of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, following a suggestion formulated during a session of the Central Committee of the WCC. 32 young theologians, coming from seven regions, many denominations and interested in missiology, learnt to know each other and worked on themes related to the forthcoming world mission conference in Athens (May 9-16, 2005).

This report outlines the activities of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches during the years 1999-2005 and includes three completed study documents, as well as some themes pursued and issues addressed.