Potting Christianity: Ecumenical Worship in Its Multicultural and Multi-Ethnic Context

In the gardening world, potting refers to the cultivation of plants by cutting, layering, and replacing nutrients-depleted soil with new soil in larger pots to accommodate the growth process. This understanding seems helpful in describing ecumenical worship. There are two perspectives about this phenomenon. On one end of the liturgical practice spectrum, it is perceived as a “least-common-denominator” worship form where contested expressions are cast aside and replaced by elements that are acceptable by everyone. As a result, ecumenical worship is held up as a product of complex negotiation but displays a remarkable lack of spiritual depth in its outcome. On the other end, there is the World Council of Churches—a fellowship of 350 churches that is regarded as the epitome of ecumenism in practice particularly its worship celebration. The assembly, convened every eight years, is seen as a “best practice” showcase for ecumenical worship. In fact, many of the “global songs” being sung by our congregation were premiered in this ecumenical setting. How might we make sense of these perceptions? To that end, this article seeks to describe a suitably appropriate method in planning ecumenical worship and to identify elements that this worship genre needs to consider in its rendition. The efforts of the 2022 assembly worship planning committee of the World Council of Churches serves as the case study. Theo-liturgical principles that define this worship design are examined and discussed. By this, insights may be garnered to help local congregations appreciate this distinctive liturgical form that has its raison d’etre as an expression of Christian reconciliation and unity and to understand what is needed to successfully design such services. In so doing, the work of congregations may be strengthened to face the resurgence of racism and xenophobia in their local contexts.

Лима документ: Крштење, Евхаристија и служба свештенства

One of the most important ecumenical documents — the Lima document (1982), has adopted as a result of a long-term effort of the Faith and Order Commission, and since then it holds the unquestionable primacy among numerous joint documents, both within the seventy- year history of the World Council of Churches, and within the bilateral dialogues of various Christian denominations. But while the Lima document within the “Western Christianity” — especially in the churches of the English and German- speaking areas — is the subject of permanent pastoral and academic discussions, somehow within the Orthodox East — thus, within the context of the Serbian Orthodox Church, too — its proper theological reception is missing. This may be surprising if we take into consideration that, according to the opinion of many contemporary theologians, the Orthodox made an irreplaceable contribution to the creation of the Lima document — the greatest liturgical document of the ecumenical importance so far. The intention of this document was to provide a concrete framework of a (possible) joint (ecumenical) Liturgy, using the Orthodox liturgical rite as a basis. The purpose of this paper is to reactivate the discussion on the Lima topic within the Serbian Orthodox circles, aiming to foster a proper academic reception of this document in Orthodox theology, as well as to contribute to the further development of its content and possible realization of its goals within the ecumenical movement in the future.

Evidence of Church Unity for Global Health

This issue completes eight years of publishing the Christian Journal for Global Health. At the beginning hardly anyone would have predicted that global health would become first in the minds of the majority of the earth’s population or that an infectious calamity would become the focus of global attention. In fact, health in a global sense is testimony to the unity of the human race at a time when fractionation is a strategy for political hegemony. The Christian understanding of humans, made in the image of God and called to steward the creation, is a fundamental basis for this unity. The editors see the journal as a way to join this understanding with a vision of health for all nations. The journal editors have issued a call for papers on Vaccinations and Christian Social Responsibility which we anticipate publishing early in 2022. As a foretaste of that, this end-of-year issue has a commentary by Professor Steffen Flessa on Vaccination Against COVID-19 as a Christian Duty? A Risk-Analytic Approach He analyzes the decision-making process for getting vaccinated, a process that involves probabilities and risk-analysis, as well as consideration of the greater good. Two original research articles are included in this issue. Jorge de Andres-Sanchez with his colleagues from Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Catalonia, Spain, find that belonging to a religious community together with an intact family structure afford protection against unhealthy tobacco and cannabis use. Syeda Saniya Zehra and Elizabeth Schwaiger from Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan, provide evidence of a unique advantages of attachment to God and a collectivist family culture on reducing perceived stress, among Christians who are a minority of the country’s population. Personal travel gives me opportunity for access to Wi-Fi networks in homes of family and friends and thus acquaintance with creative SSID labels. One of the more meaningful ones was “readmorebooks”. In pursuance of that advice, this issue has two book reviews that we think deserve the attention of readers. The first is a review by Arnold Gorske of a two-volume handbook entitled Health Promoting Churches, published by the World Council of Churches and authored and edited by Dr. Mwai Makoka. As Dr. Gorske comments, these books, “have more lifesaving, health and healing potential than anything else I have read,” except the Bible. The second is Dr. William Newbrander’s review of All Creation Groans: Toward a Theology of Disease and Global Health, edited by Daniel O’Neill and Beth Snodderly. The essays included in this book create a comprehensive multidisciplinary survey of the theological grounds for church involvement in global health and the spiritual and behavioral aspects of disease origins. Dr. Newbrander’s review provides a helpful introduction to these important and often unexplored issues. The editors are pleased to receive poetry submissions from time to time and we are grateful for our poetry reviewer to help us evaluate them. I Will Never See a Full Moon the Same is a moving reflection on the death of a young patient, but death with a perspective of hope. As of the middle of this December, the coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us with surges in case numbers in a variety of countries, and with several variant strains. The deployment of vaccines, their future development and the means to expedite their uptake around the world continue to be fertile subjects for research, policy, ethics and theology. We urge and look forward to publishing other submissions in response to this call for papers and other subject early in the new year. The glory the angels revealed to the shepherds at the birth of Christ, He has given to His people, whom He desires to be unified to reflect that glory (John 17:22). For those strengthened by beholding each other’s work and faith, may your communities experience a very merry Christmas and peaceful new year.

Health-Promoting Churches: Reflections on Health and Healing for Churches on Commemorative World Health Days, by Mwai Makoka, World Council of Churches Publications, Vol. 1, 2020; Vol. 2, 2021

N/A book review

Between Dialogue and Denunciation: The World Council of Churches, Religious Freedom, and Human Rights during the Cold War

While the historiography on the religious Cold War has tended to focus on Christian anticommunism, the World Council of Churches (WCC) sought to transcend the Cold War while simultaneously advancing religious freedom in the Soviet Union. This article connects the WCC's ecclesiastical diplomacy to the wider story of human rights, from which religion has too often been excluded. The WCC's quest for Christian fellowship led it to integrate the Russian Orthodox Church into its membership, but this commitment generated tensions with the rise of Soviet dissidence. Moreover, the WCC's turn towards the left and the Third World contrasted with newly ascendant voices for human rights in the 1970s: Amnesty International's depoliticised liberalism, evangelical anticommunism, and the Vatican under John Paul II. Thus, the WCC, an early and prominent transnational voice for human rights, ran afoul of shifts in both the Cold War and the politics of protest.

Rocking the boat : women's participation in the World Council of Churches, 1948-1991

<p>When the inaugurating assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in 1948 questions about women's participation in the life and work of the churches, including the ordained ministry, were already on the agenda, placed there by women even though few women participated in any official capacity in the assembly. Since 1948 women's participation has become an increasingly important issue within the life and work of the WCC itself. This thesis, which is based on extensive primary research, documents and discusses women's participation in the WCC from that first assembly in 1948 to the seventh in 1991. By women's participation I understand both the inclusion of women among the representatives of the member churches who participate with some authority in the various policy and decision making bodies within the Council and the contribution of women's experiences, insights and perspectives to its policies and programmes. I argue that although women's participation in the WCC has increased significantly in the period 1948-1991 this increase has occurred only as a result of considerable struggle by women themselves, and that the ongoing pressure from women for their full and equal participation with men gives rise to serious tensions and problems within the WCC today. The basic approach is chronological, with documentation and discussion organised around the seven WCC assemblies held in the period 1948-1991. The slow processes of bureaucratic change through which women's participation has increased are documented in some detail, with particular attention given to their participation in assemblies and on the central committee, these being the two most powerful bodies in the governance of the WCC. Significant changes in the policies and programmes of the WCC resulting from women's participation are discussed, with particular attention paid to the "women's department" which, although its title and mandate have changed more than once, has consistently been the locus of advocacy for women's participation, and the commission on Faith and Order which has addressed theological questions raised by and about women's participation. The conclusion drawn from this study is that women's participation offers a number of significant challenges to the WCC and its member churches in their quest for unity.</p>

Rocking the boat : women's participation in the World Council of Churches, 1948-1991

<p>When the inaugurating assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in 1948 questions about women's participation in the life and work of the churches, including the ordained ministry, were already on the agenda, placed there by women even though few women participated in any official capacity in the assembly. Since 1948 women's participation has become an increasingly important issue within the life and work of the WCC itself. This thesis, which is based on extensive primary research, documents and discusses women's participation in the WCC from that first assembly in 1948 to the seventh in 1991. By women's participation I understand both the inclusion of women among the representatives of the member churches who participate with some authority in the various policy and decision making bodies within the Council and the contribution of women's experiences, insights and perspectives to its policies and programmes. I argue that although women's participation in the WCC has increased significantly in the period 1948-1991 this increase has occurred only as a result of considerable struggle by women themselves, and that the ongoing pressure from women for their full and equal participation with men gives rise to serious tensions and problems within the WCC today. The basic approach is chronological, with documentation and discussion organised around the seven WCC assemblies held in the period 1948-1991. The slow processes of bureaucratic change through which women's participation has increased are documented in some detail, with particular attention given to their participation in assemblies and on the central committee, these being the two most powerful bodies in the governance of the WCC. Significant changes in the policies and programmes of the WCC resulting from women's participation are discussed, with particular attention paid to the "women's department" which, although its title and mandate have changed more than once, has consistently been the locus of advocacy for women's participation, and the commission on Faith and Order which has addressed theological questions raised by and about women's participation. The conclusion drawn from this study is that women's participation offers a number of significant challenges to the WCC and its member churches in their quest for unity.</p>

Christian Advocacy Ministry on Pandemics: The Ghanaian Example on HIV/AIDS

The study is an examination of the various Christian advocacy approaches that the church in Ghana has adopted in its role in the fight against the AIDS pandemic. The study seeks to make the Ghanaian experience available for Christian advocacy ministry for other pandemics. The study as a qualitative one focused on library research. Available primary and secondary materials on the church’s participation in the AIDS pandemic were examined and analyzed. Much attention was paid to reports, addresses, study materials and policy documents on the pandemic by the World Council of Churches, Christian Council of Ghana and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The study has observed that provision of leadership, capacity building of church leaders, education and awareness creation, the relevance of the Christian message of hope in a moment of despair and Christian advocacy ministry have made significant contributions to the Christian advocacy on the HIV/AIDS in Ghana. The study further provides insights for studies in church and society and the construction of public theology on pandemics in African Christianity. Keywords: Advocacy Ministry, Pandemics, Capacity Building, Church Leadership