Merry Christmas!

Weihnachtabotschaft von Setri Nyomi, Generalsekretär der Weltgemeinschaft Reformierter Kirchen

"Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." (Luke 2: 10 – 12)

Merry Christmas!

As we celebrate Christmas this year, we have another opportunity to celebrate the good news of great joy which the angels announced about two thousand years ago – the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Good news of a great joy? How can this be when we are surrounded by so much bad news? Can we talk about good news of great joy when we are confronted with news of massacre of little children, destruction in Syria, austerity measures leading to major economic challenges for the ever increasing poor in Greece, Spain and other places, the on-going economic and financial struggles of millions in the Global South, conflicts and wars that have left so much devastation, floods and other natural disasters, domestic violence, violence against women, climate injustice and its consequences. The list continues. Can we really talk about good news of great joy this Christmas 2012 and as we prepare to enter 2013?

Yes we can! Two thousand years ago, Bethlehem was a town in a land occupied by the then Roman empire. The people in the land were oppressed politically and economically, and conflicts were not too far away. The shepherds were among the least in status and had the least paid jobs. Their lot included spending cold nights guarding their sheep in fields far away from their homes – we could say they lived in the margins. One could not count them among the privileged in society. Yet they were the first recipients of this good news. Their first response was fear – fear of something strange and unknown. The message of the angels reversed that fear and brought hope.

The church can be God’s instruments for announcing the good news of great joy that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ brings. This is news that we can bring to those who live in fear and who experience all the bad news and incidents of injustice in the world. This is news for all – including the poor, the marginalised, victims of injustice and those who are suffering everywhere. When the King of Kings was born, he laid in a manger – not in a golden crib in a mansion. The birth of Jesus spells good news and hope. Let us rejoice in it, let us live it, let us proclaim it.

The President of the WCRC, Rev. Professor Jerry Pillay, the leadership of the WCRC, my colleagues in the WCRC office and my wife Akpene join me in wishing you and all your loved ones a very Merry Christmas, and when the year 2013 begins, we hope it comes filled with joy, hope and all God’s blessings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Setri Nyomi (Rev. Dr.)WCRC General Secretary

 

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

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
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