Celebrate John Calvin as an inspiration not a saint say Reformed church leaders

Soli Deo Gloria

As Reformed churches worldwide prepare to celebrate the 500th anniversary on 10 July of the birth of Protestant Reformation leader, John Calvin, leaders of a global movement of Reformed churches have issued a statement calling on Christians to commemorate Calvin not as a saint but as a source of inspiration for responding to contemporary social and environmental concerns.

In a statement released today (8. July) by leaders of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) which represents 75 million Reformed church members, WARC’s president and general secretary link commentaries by the 16th century lawyer and theologian to the current global economic crisis.

In their statement, WARC’s president, Clifton Kirkpatrick, and general secretary, Setri Nyomi, quote Calvin’s instructions to the church about how to respond to 16th century economic and environmental concerns and note that these speak to contemporary concerns about the impact of climate change and the market crisis on the worlds poor.

Saying that people are hurt when there is injustice in the economy, Kirkpatrick and Nyomi note: “To this Calvin stated: ‘A fair distribution can become reality if the rich do not greedily swallow up whatsoever they can get together; if they do not rake up on every side what belongs to others to satisfy their greed…’” (Calvin’s Commentary on Exodus 16:19.)

The statement’s authors add, “In our world today where humanity is blatantly ignoring the environment and in fact destroying Gods creation, Calvin’s words can be instructive: ‘Whoever owns a piece of land, should harvest the fruits in such a way that the soil does not suffer damage… If we follow this line, nobody will behave immoderately and destroy through misuse what God wishes to preserve.’” (Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis 2.15)

In pointing to the relevance of Calvins legacy for today, Kirkpatrick and Nyomi say: “It is our hope that inspired by this, we who live in the 21st century will also be faithful … to doing everything we can to be Gods agents of transformation, making a difference in our communities.”

The full statement follows.

Statement released by the President and General Secretary of WARC
8 July 2009

Dear Sisters and brothers,

Five hundred years ago this Friday, July 10, John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. The Reformed family is commemorating this, not so much to create a Calvin cult or even to hail him as a perfect saint. Calvin certainly was not perfect, and it is against the grain of Reformed Christians to foster personality cults. John Calvin himself would insist Soli Deo Gloria, Only to God be the Glory.

We commemorate this day in a spirit of gratitude to God for how what Calvin did has inspired a movement of people committed to living faithfully for God in different contexts, and how his legacy continues to inspire us to be true to God in responding faithfully to current challenges.

In our world today, many are hurting because of injustice in the economy long before the current meltdown in the financial markets. This has indeed been further aggravated by the financial crisis and job losses in many countries while those who benefited from the system before continue to be bailed out. To this Calvin stated: “A fair distribution can become reality if the rich do not greedily swallow up whatsoever they can get together; if they do not rack up on every side what belongs to others to satisfy their greed…” (Calvin’s Commentary on Exodus 16:19.)

In our world today where humanity is blatantly ignoring the environment and in fact destroying Gods creation, Calvin’s words can be instructive: “Whoever owns a piece of land, should harvest the fruits in such a way that the soil does not suffer and damage…as God’s stewards…If we follow this line, nobody will behave immoderately and destroy through misuse what God wishes to preserve.” (Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis 2.15)

In our world today where even within the church there are so many divisions and many church leaders and Christians do not take seriously the call to Christian unity, we are reminded by Calvin: “Each time we read the word one, let us be reminded that it is used emphatically. Christ cannot be divided. Faith cannot be rent. There are not various baptisms, but one, which is common to all. God cannot be torn into different parts… Faith and baptism, and God the Father and Christ, ought to unite us…” (Calvin’s commentary on Ephesians 4:5)

John Calvin wrote these commentaries in the 16th century. They continue to be relevant today. That is the legacy for which we thank God. It is our hope that inspired by this, we who live in the 21st century will also be faithful to God in our commitment to Christian unity, to confronting the forces of evil and injustice in society, and to doing everything we can to be God’s agents of transformation, making a difference in our communities.

We take this opportunity to greet all who are organizing activities and worship services this week-end (July 10 12, 2009). May God bless you as you commemorate this jubilee. We take this opportunity to greet those who have had some activities earlier this year, or are planning to engage in jubilee activities later this year.

We would also like to thank all those people and congregations who made it a point to give a special Birthday gift in the form of financial resources with which the World Alliance of Reformed Churches can continue to be faithful to God in carrying out mandates that are in part inspired by the life and ministry of John Calvin. For those who want to follow this good example, please visit the WARC website (http://www.warc.ch/ ) and go to “Calvin and WARC”. You can also find more information on: http://www.calvin.org/.

As we commemorate 500 years after the birth of Calvin, may all our actions and responses to global and community challenges today give glory to God.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Rev. Dr.Clifton Kirkpatrick, President
Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, General Secretary

 


Pressemeldung des WARC, 8. Juli 2009

Südafrika begrüßt Entscheidung der Reformed Church of America Rassismus als Sünde zu bekennen und das Belhar Bekenntnis anzuerkennen

A South African church leader is hailing a move by an American church to require members to confess racism as a sin.
Representatives of the Reformed Church of America (RCA) voted at meetings in the city of Holland (8. Juni 2009) in the northeastern United States to accept the Belhar Confession as one of four foundational statements of belief which define the terms of church membership.

WARC, 9. Juni 2009

Neue Reformierte Bewegung will Ortsgemeinden für weltweite Verbindungen öffnen

RWB-Vizepräsident Locher erwägt gegenseitige Fürbitte für die Anliegen der Mitgliedskirchen
Vertreter von Mitgliedskirchen des Reformierten Weltbundes (RWB) und des Reformierten Ökumenischen Rates (REC) kamen überein, den Zusammenschluss der beiden Organisationen zu einer weltweiten Gemeinschaft oder ‘communio’ zu empfehlen, - ein Schritt, der ihrer Ansicht nach direkte und positive Auswirkungen auf ihre Ortsgemeinden in der ganzen Welt haben dürfte.

WARC, 4. Juni 2009

Rechtsradikale im Europaparlament schaden den Menschen in Europa

Christlicher Glaube geht nicht mit fremdenfeindlichen und rassistischen Parolen zusammen
Der Generalsekretär der Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa (GEKE), Bischof Dr. Michael Bünker: ''Das Europaparlament darf nicht zur Schaubühne für extremistische Kräfte werden.''

Pressemitteilung der GEKE, Thomas Flügge, Wien/Bern, 9. Juni 2009

Reformierter Weltbund: Barmer Theologische Erklärung weltweit maßgebendes Beispiel

Eine Erklärung der deutschen Kirchen von 1934 bleibt für Reformierte Kirchen heute maßgebend
Das Vorgehen einer Gruppe deutscher Kirchenmitglieder im Jahr 1934, die sich dem nazifreundlichen Reichskirchenregiment widersetzten, ist noch heute ein maßgebendes Beispiel für uns, sagt der Generalsekretär des Reformierten Weltbundes (RWB), Setri Nyomi.

Pressemitteilung des Reformierten Weltbundes

Reformierte Christen weltweit prägen Genfs Stadtbild anlässlich der Calvinfeiern

Clifton Kirkpatrick, der Präsident des RWB: ''Gelegenheit zur Begegnung unter Angehörigen der Reformierten Kirchenfamilie''
Christen und Christinnen aus aller Welt strömen nach Genf in der Schweiz anlässlich der Geburtstagsfeiern des Vorkämpfers der Kirchenreformation, Johannes Calvin.

Pressemitteilung des Reformierten Weltbundes (RWB)

Reformed church Christians propose sacramental union

Setri Nyomi: ''The decision is in line with John Calvin’s commitment to Christian unity''
Representatives of Reformed, United and Presbyterian churches from diverse traditions have voted to form a union which is unprecedented in its inclusiveness and overcomes longstanding divisions among some churches.

Pressemitteilung des Reformierten Weltbundes (RWB) / WARC

Korean students prepare for ministry via ''travelling theology''

Gyoung Ho Jeong: ''process of learning from life settings''
A Korean professor who has taken theology students to live with nomadic herders in Mongolia and with the urban poor in Viet Nam believes he may be creating a new branch of theology, one which he has dubbed « Travelling Theology ».

Pressemitteilung des Reformierten Weltbundes (RWB) / WARC, 27. Mai 2009

Calvin-Feier und Tagung zum Zusammenschluss von WARC und REC

21. – 31. Mai Tagung von Reformiertem Weltbund und Reformiertem Ökumenischen Rat im John Knox Zentrum, Genf
Leitende Reformierte Kirchenvertreter feiern Calvin und planen den Zusammenschluss ihrer Organisationen, der rund 75 Millionen Reformierte Christen in aller Welt umfassen wird.

Pressemiteilung WARC, 13. Mai 2009

Gründung der Ungarischen Reformierten Kirche (Hungarin Reformed Church)

22. Mai 2009, konstituierende Synode der Ungarischen Reformierten Kirche in Debrecen, Ungarn
Reformierte Kirchen aus Ungarn, Rumänien, Transkarpatien (Ukraine), Slovakien, Serbien, Kroatien und Slovenien schließen sich zu einer synodalen Gemeinschaft zusammen, der Ungarischen Reformierten Kirche (Hungarin Reformed Chruch).

Barbara Schenck

Theologischer Exekutivsekretär des Reformierten Weltbundes in Baden

Douwe Visser besuchte die Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden
Der Exekutivsekretär für Theologie des Reformierten Weltbundes, Dr. Douwe Visser, besuchte Mitte Mai die Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden. Zunächst trat er als Referent bei einer Tagung der Evangelischen Akademie Baden auf, die sich dem Reformator Johannes Calvin (1509-1564) widmete. Danach nahm Dr. Visser an einer Sitzung der Kirchenleitung in Karlsruhe teil und stellte die Arbeit des Reformierten Weltbundes vor.

Pfr. Hans Georg Ulrichs
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