Alliance announces 24th general council, establishes endowment fund
Geneva, August 2 2000
"That all may have life in fullness" is the theme of the next general council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which will be held in Ghana in 2004.
This was one of the principal decisions by the Warc executive committee, meeting in Bangalore, India, from July 20 to 29 this year.
Drawn from the fourth Gospel, the theme is loosely based on John 10.10: "I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly."
"We live in a world in which all do not have life in fullness and the church cannot stand by unconcerned," explains Warc general secretary, Dr Setri Nyomi. "A theme concerned with life both allows us and challenges us to take a critical look at our theology, spirituality and faith-mandated social engagement."
"In the early part of the 21st century, the church has a responsibility to engage in a critical self-review on the extent to which we have been instruments of God in bringing about and advocating life in fullness for all as a counter-force to all the powers of death around us."
The 23rd general council (Debrecen, 1997) is best known for its call to member churches to engage at all levels of their life in a common process of recognition, education and confession of faith in relation to the deepening problems of worldwide economic injustice and environmental destruction. Warc leaders endorse the theme of life as in clear continuity with the Debrecen discussion, but as enabling the Alliance to take the argument a step forward.
Two countries - Ghana and Indonesia - were under consideration as possible venues for the council. Deciding between the two was not easy. In addition to appreciation for the Indonesian churches' eagerness to offer hospitality, there was a strong feeling of solidarity with the people of Indonesia in their current troubles - the executive committee also issued a statement on crimes against humanity in the Maluku islands - but uncertainty about the developing sociopolitical situation in Indonesia and the fact that the general council had not met in Africa for thirty years tipped the decision in favour of Ghana.
With only four years to prepare the council, the executive committee mandated the staff to develop comprehensive proposals for every aspect of the council and appointed a preparatory committee to meet at the beginning of December 2000.
The general council is the Alliance's highest governing body, with delegates from each of its 215 member churches. It meets every seven or eight years.
The Alliance for life fund
The executive committee also endorsed plans for Warc's long-term future.
It agreed to set up an endowment fund in order to secure the financial future of Warc by providing supplementary income from investments to complement the annual contributions from its member churches. Individuals in the Warc family and other donors will be invited to contribute to the "Alliance for life fund", which it is hoped will raise one or two million US dollars before the 24th general council, and US$10 million by the year 2010. A final target for the new fund will be set later.
"An investment in the Warc endowment fund is an investment in life," the executive committee said. "The assurance of a financially secure base will ensure that the vast network of the Alliance, with more than 200 member churches and 75 million people, will be equipped, strengthened and empowered to address the evils that compromise life and the quality of life."
The endowment fund was just one of several fund-raising ideas adopted by the executive committee.
Church members and other donors will also be offered the opportunity to contribute to three other funds: the Reformed Churches' Partnership Fund (an interchurch aid fund geared mainly toward member churches in the South), a new Emergencies Fund for short-term disaster relief, and a new Scholarship Fund for Theological Education for Women from the South.
In addition, they can contribute to current expenditure on four programmes in the Alliance: work with young people, a church-centred programme on economic injustice and ecological destruction, bilateral theological dialogue with other Christian traditions, and a programme to bridge the information technology gap between member churches in the North and South.
"Our member churches already give generously to the Alliance," says Dr William A McComish, Warc general treasurer and dean of St Peter's cathedral in Geneva. "But we need to increase our income in order to do all that they ask of us. Through the endowment fund and the other new fund-raising measures, we will appeal to the goodwill of our church members and of others who share our concerns."
Executive committee 2001
The next meeting of the executive committee will take place in Holland, Michigan, from July 26 to August 4 2001, at the invitation of the Reformed Church in America.
