With the collapse of the communist regimes in central and eastern Europe in autumn 1989, Europe experienced an unexpected political change (die Wende) which caught the people, the churches and the political structures in west and east unawares.

The 22nd general council took place as these events unfolded and the new executive committee, at its first full meeting in August 1990, tried to take stock. The committee agreed that WARC should "support and encourage churches in central and eastern Europe as they seek to deepen the Christian nurture and sense of community within their congregations and churches."

In spring 1990, former officers of WARC handed over to the new leadership "Fund 17", a fund which had been used to make small financial disbursements to churches in central and eastern Europe, helping out in situations of dire need, during the political "ice age" of east-west confrontation. Anticipating the need for continued and deepened support of member churches in the region, the executive committee resolved that the balance of "Fund 17" was to provide the starting capital for a new central and eastern European fund which would be included among the funds of the Alliance, like the partnership fund. It decided that "efforts be made to enlarge the fund by commending it to member churches and others with the view to its use in central and eastern European countries". Noting "that the fund has an official link to the European area", it agreed that "the general secretary administer the fund with the help of Dr Herbert Ehnes and Rev Hartmut Lucke and others if required".

In February 1991, the newly appointed assistant to the general secretary, Gerhard Dilschneider, started his work administering the partnership fund. It became apparent that the central and eastern European fund (CEEF) needed similar continuous attention, and the assistant was also charged with the task of handling the fund.

The fund begins

In São Paulo in 1991, the CEEF committee met for the first time. To balance its representation, it asked other members of the executive committee (Bertalan Tamas, Hungary; Julius Norvila, Lithuania; and Hugh Davidson, Scotland) to join Milan Opocensky, Herbert Ehnes, and Hartmut Lucke in the CEEF committee, and elected Dr Ehnes to the chair. It also dealt with a number of policy, structural and administrative questions so that the fund could operate transparently and in an officially recognized way.

Criteria and type of support

Part of the money available was earmarked for salaries for pastors in what were then Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. This was a responsibility inherited from "Fund 17" which had to be carried forward. But the remaining funds were available to cover "the specific needs of the churches within the Reformed family and to help them to respond to the increasing possibilities opening up to them due to the rapid changes they are experiencing in their countries. This transition poses great challenges, and the CEEF can serve as a financial and educational medium to support that effort... WARC and the CEEF should be flexible enough to respond to different needs as they arise, but also enter into an educational process of communicating to the churches the experience gained elsewhere, as it might be difficult for some churches to handle funds which have never been available before." [CEEF minutes, 1991]

This wording reflects the concern of the committee that although salary support would remain important for the time being, the experience gained by ecumenical funding agencies in the field of interchurch aid must not be overlooked and advice should be taken from the "guidelines towards a regional approach to ecumenical sharing", criteria developed by the European regional group of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Conference of European Churches (Cec) in 1989.

The committee adopted the following policy:

"That the CEEF commits its funds to the needs and aspirations of the member churches in the region by supporting the ministry of the churches, their pastoral work, pastors and fraternal workers. This includes support for the following items (not listed in order of priority): repair of pastors' homes; salary subsidies; emergency cases in pastors' families; literature and teaching material; building up of pension funds/provision for pastors' widows; scholarships; ecumenical travel; transport facilities. The guiding policy of the fund is that it be geared to building and strengthening human resources and promoting activities and structures which lead to self-reliance and self-support of the churches in the region concerned." [CEEF minutes, 1991]

Over the years many different kinds of activities were supported, reflecting the needs of the churches, for example:

new buildings and renovation of churches, community centres and pastor's manses;
salary support for pastors and church workers and their families;
missionary outreach work;
youth work and camps;
purchase of educational material, machines, cars and office equipment;
subsidies for theological training and education;
support for social and diaconal institutions;
literature, books, publication material;
equipment for agricultural development;
travel expenses and assistance in attending ecumenical conferences, meetings and workshops;
administrative subsidies;
a loan to the Protestant Theological Faculty, Prague

Fund-raising, structural relations and decision-making

The letters sent out by the general secretary to member churches in 1990 asking for financial contributions to the fund met with a number of positive responses, in particular from the German member churches, but at the same time provoked some critical remarks and caused some irritation to others. Some churches preferred to channel their limited resources through the existing network of bilateral or multilateral ecumenical agencies, and saw no need to create a new fund. Donor agencies like the Swiss interchurch aid agency, Heks, already in contact with the Reformed churches in the area for a long time prior to 1989, likewise objected to the new role of WARC. It was seen as part of a new confessional trend, which could create obstacles to transparency and cooperation and hinder the established ecumenical approach. It was said that churches on the receiving end could use the new fund as a way of circumventing the established channels when their requests were not financed elsewhere.

These views have to be seen against their background: after the opening of national borders, many organizations moved into the countries offering help, and sometimes churches lost track on who was doing what with whom and when. During this period the "round table" approach of the WCC and Cec - where the diaconal activities of the churches at national level were planned and coordinated - was applied in several countries. It was not yet clear what the role of WARC as a confessional family was in such a network.

WARC with its central and eastern European fund entered this sometimes rather complicated network giving the message that the worldwide Reformed family wanted to express its solidarity with the Reformed churches in the region, which represent about half of the total Christian membership of Protestant churches, but are nonetheless minority churches. For WARC it was legitimate during this difficult transition period to help its member churches in whatever ways possible and to strengthen the relationships among them, but without jeopardizing or calling in question the existing carefully balanced network for interchurch aid.

The more information about developments in the region was received the more it became clear that the churches faced unprecedented challenges, and had great problems in finding adequate and future-oriented responses. Their situation made high demands on human and material resources. At the same time they struggled with weak structures and a lack of concepts and competence particularly in the field of diaconal and social concerns.

The CEEF committee during its meeting in Aotearoa/New Zealand in 1992 reflected on the policy of the fund and its role in relation to other agencies. It confirmed that, as a matter of principle, the fund would support "Reformed churches in their ministry, as they are often minority churches which are sometimes overlooked by the ecumenical funding structures. At the same time WARC accepts an ecumenical approach with the principle of partnership, transparency, common policy and coordination with existing agencies and offices." This discussion about the role of the fund led over the years to several new contacts, intense reflections and finally to a profile from which the various partners benefited. "This ecumenical discipline does not touch the self-reliance, independence and self-identity of the fund's policy but underlines its ecumenical character and cooperative nature from which the member churches can benefit through the committed service of WARC." [CEEF minutes, 1992, pp.3-4]

It was agreed that the CEEF would employ the same decision-making process as the partnership fund, with funding requests to be submitted to the CEEF committee for voting. In the case of postal votes, a two-thirds response on the part of committee members and a simple majority of those responding in favour would suffice for approval. Emergency cases could be decided by the chair of the committee and the general secretary, up to an amount of CHF5,000.

Funding requests and approvals

During the period 1992-1996, 79 disbursements from the fund, amounting in total to CHF2,569,917, were made to 12 churches in 12 countries:

1992	17 disbursements to 8 churches in 7 countries	CHF545,546
1993	15 disbursements to 10 churches in 9 countries	CHF373,007
1994	24 disbursements to 11 churches in 10 countries	CHF1,311,219
1995	12 disbursements to 5 churches in 5 countries	CHF150,145
1996	11 disbursements to 8 churches in 8 countries	CHF190,000

The following member churches benefited from the CEEF:

Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, Czech Republic
Church of Brethren, Czech Republic
Reformed Church in Slovakia, Slovak Republic
Reformed Church in Hungary, Hungary
Reformed Church in Romania (Transylvania and Kings's Pass [Oradea] Districts), Romania
Reformed Christian Church in Croatia, Croatia
Reformed Christian Church in Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia
Reformed Church in Carpatho-Ukraine, Ukraine
Reformed Church in Lithuania, Lithuania
Reformed Evangelical Church in Poland, Poland
Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches in Bulgaria, Bulgaria
Greek Evangelical Church, Greece.

As can be seen from the list of projects in the appendix, the CEEF was until 1994 in the fortunate position of being able to respond to a large number of the applications which were sent to the Geneva office and to support a wide range of activities. But the expectation of a reduced income for the year 1995 led to a considerable scaling down in activity. Member churches were informed about the financial constraints. The context in which the fund was operating also changed in several respects, and the fund adapted to the new situation.

Redefinition of policy, new activities, 1994

When the CEEF committee met in Pittsburgh in 1994, several factors led it to review the experience of the fund, and to formulate new priorities.

Salary support

During the years 1990-92 earmarked funds had been donated to the CEEF to support salaries in the churches in former Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic. This was in recognition of the fact that the income of the churches in these countries was not sufficient to allow the pastors and other church workers a decent living. The CEEF committee resolved to change the approach. This problem was not peculiar to the two countries in question but also applied to other churches in the region which experienced the same constraints. On the other hand, external subsidies for salaries could only be a temporary measure during a transition period. The churches had to find their own ways of financing their staff. Finally, given the many member churches in the southern hemisphere which had never been privileged to receive such support, it was ecumenically unfair to continue such payments.

During this period, the churches in Germany initiated the Aktion Evangelische Partnerhilfe, which was designed to make contributions to part-time and full-time staff of the churches and their families to enable them to cover additional personal needs. The first payments by the Evangelische Partnerhilfe were made in 1993 and the Reformed churches in the region also benefited from it. In the light of this development and of the deliberations set out above, the CEEF committee decided to discontinue its salary support to avoid duplicating financial help.

Ecumenical cooperation

The CEEF wanted to keep its own profile and independence - following the policy set in Wellington in 1992 - but if its work with the Reformed churches was not to become isolated and counter-productive it needed to establish closer relations with the other ecumenical partners and donors working in the area.

Starting in 1992, WARC staff attended ecumenical round tables in Romania and the Czech Republic, the sessions of the European regional group, and other meetings organized by the WCC and CEC. This enabled the staff to gather information, to represent the interests of the Reformed churches and to contribute from WARC's point of view to the decisions. It gave them insights into ecumenical activities, and enhanced the visibility of the Alliance. It helped to create trust between WARC and the donors in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands responsible for interchurch aid programmes and led to a fruitful coordination of priorities, programmes and projects. One result was a regular meeting in Geneva of the European area secretaries from Cec, the LWF, the WCC and WARC.

In this context, WARC took the initiative to call a round table with the Reformed Church in Carpatho-Ukraine in January 1993 in Gwatt, Switzerland. For the first time, the different churches, donors and ecumenical partners came together to receive detailed information about this church after the political change and to plan coordination of future support. It should be noted with appreciation that Heks agreed to accept the leading role in the future coordination of all external assistance.

In the course of these years WARC became one of the recognized ecumenical partners in the field of interchurch aid in central and eastern Europe.

Dialogue with churches, redefinition of criteria and new activities

Already in 1993, when it became clear that financial resources were limited, the CEEF committee had recognized that "it might be helpful to formulate some guiding principles which could reflect priorities to which the fund likes to give preference". Should the work of the fund be limited to financing project applications, or could the dialogue with the churches and the experience gained in recent years could bring about a shift in the activities and add a new quality? The assistant to the general secretary wrote in his report: "The churches in central and eastern Europe after the political change are trying to rebuild their structures and extend their ministry in a given situation. But what kind of concept (ecclesiology) will the churches follow to respond to present challenges and foreseen developments in the future. In this context the restitution of buildings and land serves as a case in question and it is debated whether it would be appropriate to claim all the former property back from the State without having the needed means of finances and personnel to implement adequate programmes. Is WARC in a position to enter a dialogue with the member churches to find out what theological and structural concept governs the rebuilding and re-establishment of the church, the work of its parishes, its educational and training institutions and other diaconal, social and society related services? In several countries theological training institutions are re-established and staffed with great effort, but there seems to be no coordination among the churches concerned about any medium or long-term planning. In which ways can the churches determine their role by considering their resources realistically and without creating a new dependency?"

As a result of this discussion, the CEEF committee decided to call a consultation with the Reformed churches in the region, in order to discuss the present situation, role and future concepts of theological education and training and to seek closer cooperation among them.

The first consultation on theological education and training, in Balatonfüred, Hungary, in October 1994, brought together 30 representatives from the church leaderships and theological institutions of twelve member churches in Romania, Hungary, Carpatho-Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Croatia, Lithuania, Yugoslavia Federation, and Poland. It was in a true sense a "historic meeting" which took stock of the situation and moved the churches towards closer cooperation. It agreed that, to avoid duplication, Reformed theological institutions should cooperate more closely on course content and curriculum development, exchange of staff, students and materials.

As a follow-up, representatives of the six theological institutions (Cluj in Romania; Debrecen, Sárospatak and Budapest in Hungary; Komarno in the Slovak Republic; and Prague in the Czech Republic) met for a second consultation in Berekfürdö, Hungary, in October 1995. They drew up a "letter of intent" which identified current deficits in ministerial formation and sought closer cooperation among them. They established a conference of Reformed theological institutions as a framework for coordinating improvements in theological education. Immediately following this consultation, the report was presented to a meeting with representatives from ecumenical donors and partners, who reflected on the letter of intent and pledged assistance for various activities. The first meeting of the conference took place in October 1996.

This exercise demonstrated that WARC, in close cooperation with ecumenical partners, was able to address emerging needs in the region and to contribute to future-oriented development by bringing Reformed churches together in dialogue and a mutual learning process which helps to define the ministry of the churches in times of change.

In 1994, the CEEF committee agreed that the criteria of the fund should be broadened and streamlined to accommodate recent developments. The criteria approved in Sao Paulo were reconfirmed; but it was agreed that in future:

preference would be given to the development of human resources;
a lower priority would be given to buildings which serve the church's work for education and training, including pastor's manses; and
in order to avoid duplication, salary support would not be granted if other donors had already committed themselves.

The criteria applied until 1994 had allowed a certain flexibility, but new insights into the situation, reduced income, and the disproportionately high requests for assistance for buildings made this change in emphasis necessary.

Following discussions at the executive committee in Pittsburgh in 1994, it was agreed to initiate a pastoral visit to the emerging Reformed communities in Belarus and in other countries like Estonia, Latvia and the Ukraine, to learn more about these communities and to link them to the ecumenical family. On the initiative of the Alliance, an ecumenical team visit, under the umbrella of the Evangelical Church of the Union, Berlin, Germany, took place in July 1995; a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 1996 evaluated the results of the visit and planned future activities.

We may report here a success story to which the CEEF was privileged to contribute. In 1990, the Comenius Faculty in Prague, which trains theological students of the different churches for the ministry, was incorporated in the renowned Charles University as the Protestant theological faculty. But the difficult economic situation in the Czech Republic prevented the state from providing an adequate building for the considerably increased number of students. After long negotiations the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, a member church of WARC and traditionally closely affiliated to the Faculty, decided to purchase a building in the centre of Prague to provide the needed facility. An international fund-raising effort started in 1994, strongly supported by all German churches, other WARC member churches in Europe and overseas, foundations and ecumenical donor agencies, and the CEEF. The result was impressive; and the renovated building was formally opened in December 1995.

The future of the fund

During its meeting in Detmold in 1996, the CEEF committee reflected on the future of the fund. In a joint meeting with the partnership fund committee the following recommendation to the 23rd general council was formulated:

The CEEF as currently constituted will cease to exist, and the available balance will be used for a different purpose (see no.4 below). Donors will be informed accordingly, and no income is expected in future.
The partnership fund of WARC will have its scope extended and will be made available to requests of all WARC member churches including the churches in central and eastern Europe, applying the criteria of the partnership fund to all WARC member churches.
The partnership fund committee should reflect the WARC constituency as a whole.
The former CEEF, with its financial balance, will operate in future with the following objectives and criteria: the fund commits its resources to activities and programmes chosen by WARC, addressing the needs and aspirations of member churches in central and eastern Europe. Preference will be given to:
- human resource development and capacity building;
- initiatives which strengthen the responsibilities of the churches and which provide coordination and cooperation among the churches;
- support which allows participation in ecumenical affairs.

The CEEF came into being to help member churches in the region to cope with the dramatic and unexpected changes in the former communist countries. The fund has placed a significant role during its existence and has helped to increase WARC's visibility and to enhance the image of the Reformed family after a long time of isolation. But one main intention for the creation of the central and eastern European fund, namely to provide salary support for pastors and church workers, became obsolete once the Aktion Evangelische Partnerhilfe, Germany, took over this task. Furthermore the fund is already facing reduced income and this will continue in future. WARC, after Debrecen, will have to concentrate its limited human and material resources, and has to be open to programmatic reorientation.

The suggested move opens the partnership fund to the whole WARC constituency, applying the criteria fairly. A ceiling might be placed on the proportion of the partnership fund assigned to the central and eastern European region.

The balance of the CEEF donated as earmarked grants to the churches of the area will be used under a different mandate. WARC will take over the balance and will use it according to the criteria stated in no.4 above which makes it still possible to address the specific needs of the churches in the region, and may free strained resources of the general WARC budget for programmatic work.

Thanks

Grateful appreciation is expressed to the WARC member churches and donor agencies who contributed generously over the years to the fund. Without this strong support, the work of the CEEF, giving much-needed assistance to the Reformed family in the region, would not have been possible.