The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is poised to develop closer relations to its 215 member churches. This was the central message of its general secretary, Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, in discussions with North American church leaders earlier this month.

In the year 2000 and beyond, he told them, we cannot afford to do business in separate camps, with conciliar instruments set up by the churches engaging in programmes which are unrelated to priorities of its member churches. "We owe it to the people in our pews, and suffering people all over the world to be in constant communication, making our programmes more relevant to the people."

The general secretary was visiting the leadership of nine member churches and two officers of Canaac (the Caribbean and North American area council of the Alliance).

The churches visited included, in the USA:

the Evangelical Presbyterian Church;
the Cumberland Presbyterian Church;
the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America;
the Presbyterian Church (USA);
the Reformed Church in America;
the Hungarian Presbyterian Church; and
the United Church of Christ (USA);

and in Canada:

the United Church of Canada; and
the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Dr Nyomi had discussions with stated clerks and general secretaries of each of the churches and other leaders.

"I am glad to see that most of our member churches are struggling with the same issues of relevance", he said. "We in the Warc office in Geneva need to parallel and complement the very good efforts of national offices of our member churches to be more relevant to their congregations. Effective communication is key to this." Dr Nyomi explored with North American churches the possibility of bridging the information gap between North and South.

In the general secretary's visit he also discussed with member churches the impact of the 23rd general council on their current programmes. Much of the discussions centred on the confessing process on economic injustice and ecological degradation and the partnership of women and men in God's mission, both key elements in the Alliance's work.

On Warc's financial resources, there was general agreement on a need for a more secure financial base. The idea of developing an endowment fund was well received. Setri Nyomi, accompanied by Eugene Turner and Theo Gill of the PCUSA, spent a morning exploring practical implications of this with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation.

Other related discussions were held at Louisville Seminary in Kentucky and Knox College, Toronto, Canada. The general secretary also visited the United Nations office of the PCUSA in New York, which, in addition to serving our member church, monitors the work of the UN headquarters on behalf of the Alliance.