NEWS COMMENTARY

by Bert B. Beach*

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is currently going through various “rites of passage.” The past few years have been difficult ones for this key ecumenical body. The WCC elected a new general secretary, Samuel Kobia from Kenya, in January 2004 to replace Konrad Raiser, who is retiring and returning to his native land of Germany. This is the first time that an African has been elected to head up the WCC. This election highlights the increasingly significant role that the Christian churches are playing in Africa.

The WCC faces many problems. It is now preparing for its ninth assembly, to be held in Brazil in 2006. The proposed theme is “God, in Your Grace, Transform the World.” The emphasis appears to be not on eschatological re-creation, but in transformation of the present world.

In its program for the current “Decade to Overcome Violence,” the emphasis in 2004 will be on the United States (of America). To some this will no doubt appear as a strange ordering of priorities when one thinks of the many areas with crying needs, such as Afghanistan, post-war Iraq, Liberia, and Palestine.

The WCC faces tensions because of its decision regarding decentralization and relocation of regional desks, mostly caused by the precarious financial situation of the WCC.

Considerable discontent exists among the Orthodox churches regarding their participation in the WCC. A couple of churches have dropped their membership, and the active presence of some other Orthodox churches has been restricted. The Orthodox have given strong hints that if their desires – not to say demands -- are not met, there is a good chance they will leave the WCC. One of their main demands is that decisions no longer be made by democratic majority vote, but by consensus. This, of course, could mean greatly slowing down the decision-making process. On the other hand, the Orthodox are not in any great hurry, and perhaps some of the decisions reached may be better thought out and receive greater local support in their implementation.

There is much talk at the WCC regarding “reconfiguration of the ecumenical movement.” Many ecumenists feel that the WCC in its present state of organization is not able to meet the challenge of the new century. It is proposed to call a small consultation of “knowledgeable persons” in November to focus on the organizational needs and basic purposes of the future WCC.

Finances remain a serious concern. Unfortunately for the WCC, many member churches do not seem to take their financial responsibilities seriously. In fact, quite a number of churches make no financial contribution. Officially, the minimum contribution is set at about US$750 a year. Yet even that small amount is not met by many of the more than 335 member churches. (In 2002 only 66 percent of the churches paid their contributions – and that was an increase from 52 percent in 1998!) It is hoped that 2004 will be a year of passage toward WCC financial viability. Increased assessments are expected to result from new calculations of membership contributions based both on church size and gross domestic product (GDP) of the country or countries where the member church is located.

In the final analysis the future of the ecumenical movement (as epitomized by the WCC) depends largely on the growing ecumenical role of the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Catholic Church is currently forced to be in somewhat of a holding pattern because of the failing health and strength of Pope John Paul II. Thoughts are already directed toward the possible successor to the present pope, who is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his gradually fading pontificate.

* The author of this commentary, Bert B. Beach, is Director for Inter-church Relations at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

(This article has first appeared in the ADVENTIST REVIEW, North American edition, November 2003, Vol. 180, No. 45)

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