WCRC deepens commitment in Middle East

Eexecutive committee of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) in Lebanon


The executive committee of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) concluded its meeting in Lebanon by issuing a call to its churches for greater solidarity and action to help bring peace to the Middle East.

“This statement is a commitment. It’s a proclamation from the WCRC that they will walk the talk with us in this region,” said Najla Kassab, executive committee member from Lebanon.

“The news of the Middle East is all over the world in terms of the conflicts and struggles. We were here firstly for solidarity,” said Jerry Pillay, WCRC president.

“Part of that solidarity was to listen and gain new understandings. Often the media do not tell the story that should be told,” said Pillay. “We have heard the stories of the people of the Middle East—from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon—and all of these stories were able to inform us more accurately about what is happening.”

The statement summarizes what the executive committee heard and then presents this response:

  •  We call for global recognition of the suffering of all people in the Middle East.
  •  We call for violence to cease in Syria immediately and pray for peace to spread like ripples from there throughout the entire region.
  •  We urge our officers and secretariat to strengthen the bonds among our member churches in this region to consolidate their communion.
  •  We commit ourselves to tell the stories of our Middle East sisters and brothers to the wider world.

The statement also contains seven requests to WCRC member churches, including increasing solidarity, welcoming refugees and advocating for peace.

Read the full statement.

“This statement comprises a call to us to walk more closely with the churches of the region and to commit ourselves to support the Middle East Christians so that they stay, flourish and be peacemakers,” said Chris Ferguson, WCRC general secretary. 

“What’s clear is our future here is also to be a global organization that can have an impact outside of the Middle East,” said Ferguson. “We must look at the root causes of conflicts here and call on world governments to change their propensity to look for military solutions.”

The World Communion of Reformed Churches’ executive committee meets annually to provide oversight to the work of the WCRC, both programmatically and financially. It held its 2015 meeting outside of Beirut, Lebanon.

· Friday, May 15th,

2015 / wcrc.ch

 

die reformierten.upd@te 09.1

Das reformierte Quartalsmagazin / März 2009
Jetzt auch online als PDF: Das Magazin des Reformierten Bundes. Die Themen: Friedensarbeit, Calvinismus-Ausstellung in Berlin, reformierte Ekklesiologie, Texte aus dem Reformierten Weltbund, eine Predigt zu Johannes 19, 16-30 von Jochen Denker

die reformierten.upd@te 09.1.pdf >>>
Jörg Schmidt, Generalsekretär des Reformierten Bundes
Eine neue Internetseite informiert über die Aktivitäten der im Entstehen begriffenen World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), dem Zusammenschluss von Reformiertem Weltbund (WARC) und Reformiertem Ökumenischen Rat (REC).

Barbara Schenck

Größeres Risiko von Gewalt gegen Frauen in der ökonomischen Krise

Der Reformierte Weltbund zum Internationalen Frauentag am 8. März
Geneva (ENI). Women are at higher risk of violence during the current economic crisis, yet the world is paying less attention to their needs, says the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. In a statement to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Reformed churches alliance expresses concern that violent crimes against women, particularly rape and domestic violence, are on the rise at the same time that support for programmes to protect women is under threat. "The world seems to have become almost immunised to the stench of violence against women," said Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, WARC's spokesperson on gender issues, in the 5 March statement.

Barbara Schenck

Churches told to confront ''moral crisis'' in the world economy

''Where are the prophetic voices of the churches?''
The multiple crises confronting the world are fundamentally a moral crisis says the president of the United Nations General Assembly. In remarks recorded for a public hearing on reconciliation in Geneva, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann asks, ''But where are the prophetic voices of the churches today?''

Setri Nyomi zum Internationalen Jahr der Versöhnung 2009

Generalsekretär des Reformierten Weltbundes warnt vor dem Ausschluss von Immigranten und Minderheiten
Geneva (ENI). Immigrants and minorities in affluent countries are becoming targets of exclusion at a time when the global economic system is facing strains, a global Protestant leader has warned at a gathering in the Swiss city of Geneva. "There has been a resurgence of hate crimes against minorities in a number of nations," said the Rev. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, at a 19 February meeting to mark the International Year of Reconciliation proclaimed by the United Nations for 2009.

Barbara Schenck

WARC welcomes statements made at the World Social Forum in Brazil

Reformierter Weltbund begrüßt die Stellungnahmen des Weltsozialforums
The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has issued a statement of support in response to a declaration by a representative of the World Council of Churches (WCC) that the global economic crisis offers an opportunity to create a more just financial system.

Quelle: Reformierter Weltbund, 2. Februar 2009

RWB Kommunikation: neue Chefin

Kristine Greenaway: moderne Kommunikationstechniken verbinden
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Quelle: Internetseite Reformierter Weltbund (RWB)

End the Violence in Gaza

''The rockets from Gaza aimed at Israeli communities are destructive and the suicide bombing incidents cannot be condoned ... We strongly condemn the air and ground assaults from the Israeli Defense Forces leading to senseless deaths ...'' (Reformierter Weltbund)

Pressemitteilung des Reformierten Weltbundes (WARC), 7. Januar 2009

Die Schweiz und die Einigung Europas

SEK für Ausdehnung der Personenfreizügigkeit
Der Schweizerische Evangelische Kirchenbund (SEK) spricht sich für die Weiterführung und die Ausdehnung des Freizügigkeitsabkommens zwischen der Schweiz und der Europäischen Gemeinschaft auf Rumänien und Bulgarien aus.

Medienmitteilung der SEK, Simon Weber, 8. Januar 2009

Gemeinsame Grundsätze zur Pfarrerausbildung

Die theologischen Fortbildung von Pfarrerinnen und Pfarrern soll auch intensiviert werden
Mit einer Konsultation vom 20.-23. November 2008 in Berlin hat die Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa (GEKE) einen Prozess zur Verständigung über gemeinsame Grundsätze zur Pfarrerausbildung begonnen.

24.11.2008 Thomas Flügge, GEKE
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