At the 23rd general council (Debrecen 1997), delegates called our member churches to a committed process of progressive recognition, education and confession regarding worldwide economic injustice and ecological destruction.

Four years on, it is time to take stock of what has been achieved and what remains to be done. This is an essential part of our gathering for the 24th general council under the theme, "That All may have Life in Fullness".

Many churches in our family have worked energetically within Jubilee 2000 for the cancellation of international debt. Others have commissioned studies to examine the effects of economic globalization in their own setting or as it affects other contexts. Environmental degradation is on the agenda of an increasing number of our member churches. Some have explicitly embraced the Debrecen call in their decision-making and have looked at ways to make a relevant declaration in the spirit of this call. Others have engaged in extensive church-wide initiatives stimulating their membership to seek justice for all.

The staff team in Geneva and the taskforce on the confessing process have also developed resource materials and initiated programmes aimed at stimulating discussion and action in response to the Debrecen call. We have learned much from the hearings in Bangkok and Seoul in 1999 and the consultations in Cape Town and Budapest this year.

While the Debrecen call has evoked a certain response, many of our churches have simply been unable to engage with it, either because it does not fall within their current priorities or because they have more pressing needs. But economic injustice and ecological destruction are still with us.

As we pass the halfway mark on our journey from Debrecen to Accra, we deem it necessary to renew the 1997 call. "With the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other" (Karl Barth), we listen anew to the mandate we have both from the Bible and from the realities we see around us today. The voice of Isaiah which we heard loudly and clearly in Debrecen still resounds, summoning us not to hold back God's judgement. We cannot ignore the call to break the chains of injustice. Millions of people are living badly and dying badly as a result of economic injustice and the degradation of the earth. We cannot ignore their voices either. Covenanting for justice in the economy and the earth is not an optional choice. It is a demand of the gospel on us all.

At this mid-way point, we hope that all our member churches will be open to assessing what we have done so far about this call, and addressing ways in which we can be more faithful to God in bringing life to those who suffer.

This month, we welcome Russel Botman of South Africa to the staff of the Alliance. Russel will work with our executive committee and our staff team to help WARC and its member churches to assess where we are and to move forward. The appointment is in the spirit of listening to our member churches and strengthening our common witness and action. It will involve considerable visiting and much talking with our churches. We hope that this will stimulate churches into further action. It will be yet another sign of our covenanting together to bring life to replace the forces of death.

Your cooperation with us will help the whole Alliance family to work together in furthering our Lord Jesus' purpose that all may have life in fullness. Your participation will ensure that, by the time we arrive in Accra for the 24th general council, voices from every branch of our worldwide family will have been heard and taken into account in building consensus on the next steps the Alliance should take in our covenanting together for justice in the economy and the earth.

Setri Nyomi