The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) joined together to create the new World Communion.
That Communion, created by a formal vote of the Uniting General Council, meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., from June 18-26, now represents 80 million members from 230 denominations in 108 countries. Peter Borgdorff, president of the Reformed Ecumenical Council, described this new entity as “a community under construction” — and a uniting of the transformational and redemptive strands of Reformed Christianity.
On June 25, delegates to the Uniting General Council chose Jerry Pillay, the general secretary of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in South Africa, as the World Communion’s first president.
“Friends, I do believe that it’s God’s intention that we dwell together in unity,” said Clifton Kirkpatrick, the former stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), who was elected WARC’s president in 2004. Gradye Parsons, the PC(USA)’s current stated clerk, and Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly, were among the 475 delegates at the Uniting General Council.
The union of these two international Reformed bodies, after more than four years of conversation and planning, also represents a hope that Reformed Christians together can make an impact on some of the world’s entrenched difficulties.
Over the course of a week, in a swirl of languages, the delegates spoke about poverty, economic justice, the tensions of religious pluralism, HIV and AIDS, oppression, consumerism, continuing ecological damage, and more.
For example, Tony Tampeke, a delegate from Indonesia, knows that women from his community work very long hours, “eight days a week.” What do Reformed Christians have to say about that, he asked?
Creating justice is not optional or a program, but a passion welling from the heart of God, said Ruth Padilla DeBorst of Costa Rica. She asked whether Reformed Christians will stand with those who suffer, or whether they will grow too comfortable, unwilling to listen to or speak up for those who cry out for justice.
And Bao Xuan Nguyen, a pastor with the Presbyterian Church of Vietnam, challenged the World Communion not to become part of what he called NATO — his shorthand for No Action, Talk Only.
The road to Grand Rapids has been a long one – reflecting in part the schisms and alliances that have been part of the history of the Reformed family of churches, and the financial stress many ecumenical groups are facing.
WARC, the larger of the two groups joining the Communion, was formed in 1970 – itself the merger of two earlier Reformed and Presbyterian groups, one of which dates back to 1875. Known for an emphasis on social and economic justice, WARC had 214 member churches, representing 75 million Christians in 107 countries.
REC, smaller and younger, and with more of a confessional and evangelical focus, was created in 1946 and had 41 member denominations, representing 12 million members in 25 countries.
Some of the discussion reflected tensions within the World Communion – including, for example, whether denominations wanting to join should be required to ordain women. There was debate over whether the Communion’s offices should move from Geneva to a location in the global South.
There also was discussion about what portion of the delegates churches will send to meetings should be required to be women and young people. After considerable discussion, the delegates voted to require that denominations with at least 200,000 members send delegations of at least half women (replacing another proposal, which would have required only one-third of such delegations to be women).
