WARC General Secretary Praises Growing Unity in Reformed Churches

The General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), Setri Nyomi has released a statement describing the closeness between the two worldwide Reformed Church communions. Nyomi said that this growing unity was a witness to the world in a time when religious differences can even result in violence.

The statement came as Nyomi was in Utrecht, Netherlands today 22nd July 2005. The WARC general secretary was speaking to the General Assembly of the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC), which had just agreed to commence a new closer and deeper relationship with WARC.

The WARC has 75 million members in 218 churches across 107 countries. In comparison the REC has 10 million members in 39 churches across 25 countries. However, the two bodies also have 27 common member churches that have been taking part in bilateral talks for the past 7 years.

It was agreed that a new process should begin to deepen the relationship between the two Reformed bodies through increased cooperation and collaboration, which would also include a possible sharing of projects and personnel.

A decision was made by the REC that four representatives from each organisation would enter a more focused series of talks, aiming to bring about a deal where the REC would keep its clear identity yet still be an entity within the WARC.

Nyomi praised the progress made in the talks at the REC Assembly, "When the two organisations dare to journey together in God’s mission, our member churches will be served better and, in fact, our witness as Reformed churches will be stronger.

"It is an important contribution that our Reformed family can make to the reconfiguration within the ecumenical movement in the 21st century.

"We live in a broken world in which religion and religious differences are being used by people with vested interest to perpetrate terror, violence and insecurity. This is one reason why Christian communities need to be intentional about reconfiguring the instruments that serve our churches so that we can be better witnesses to our Lord Jesus Christ.

"WARC and REC, which serve the Reformed family, can dare to lead the way," Nyomi said.

The REC General Secretary, Richard van Houten in 2004 led a delegation to attend the WARC General Council being held in Accra, Ghana. Stewards have since been exchanged by the two Reformed Church bodies, and now the WARC is represented at the REC meetings by Nyomi and the former vice-president, Pieter Holtron of Holland.

The WARC General Secretary concluded by saying, "I hope we will continue to search together for other concrete ways in which we can work together and to be open to the Spirit’s leading on how we can serve our churches best. We do have much in common, not the least of which is the common Reformed family we serve."