Lecture by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches. 23rd Peter Ainslie Lecture, Disciples General, Assembly, Portland, Oregon, July 26, 2005.
Address by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, WCC general secretary, at the international conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews, Chicago, 24-27 July 2005
The present document is the result of a study process started in response to strong suggestions made during the 2002 meeting of the WCC Central Committee to the three staff teams on Faith & Order, Interreligious Relations, Mission & Evangelism and their respective commissions or advisory bodies. The question of the theological approach to religious plurality had been on the agenda of the WCC many times, reaching some consensus in 1989 and in 1990. In recent years, it was felt that a new approach to this difficult and controversial issue was needed.
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
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 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 report of the Officers to the Central Committee is a constitutional obligation. The purpose of this report is to inform the Central Committee of the decisions taken by the Executive Committee at its meetings of 17-20 February and 24-27 August 2004, as well as those taken by the Officers at their meetings of 20-21 November 2003, 9-10 June and 28-29 November 2004.
