The leaders of the two worldwide Reformed Church groups, which represent more than 80million Protestants, have called for a new global body to be created called the “World Reformed Communion”.

|PIC1|The leaders testified that this was a “major step forward in unity”, after the unanimous recommendation was given in Michigan, USA, where representatives of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) had met for two days at the end of January.

Clifton Kirkpatrick, President of WARC, and Douwe Visser, President of REC released a joint statement to their constituencies, saying, “We rejoice in the work of the Holy Spirit which we believe has led us to recommend that the time has come to bring together the work of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council into one body that will strengthen the unity and witness of Reformed Christians.

“We also believe that this new, united, Reformed body will be a blessing to the broader ecumenical movement and to the reconciliation of the world.”

The General Secretary of WARC, Setri Nyomi, told that the recommendation was historical for the two bodies, saying, “We praise God for this historic development. In a world filled with divisions, the Reformed family is signalling with this proposal that we are ready to move beyond our divisions.

|QUOTE|“In this action we echo the fact that through our oneness, the world will believe. It undoubtedly will also be an important contribution in the ongoing search for more coherence in reconfiguring the ecumenical movement as a whole.”

Richard van Houten, REC’s General Secretary told, “I think we are blessed to find a way forward that will create an open communion that will be a strong witness and will carry into it the values that the members of the Reformed Ecumenical Council treasure.

“In the new World Reformed Communion, it is my prayer that our love and care for each other and our witness in the world will get an even better vehicle for expression than our two organisations separately have been.”

For the recommendation to be carried forward, they must be ratified by the governing bodies of both WARC and REC.

|AD|The bilateral talks between the two Reformed bodies began in 1998, with WARC having 75 million members in 218 churches in 107 countries, and REC having 12 million members in 40 churches in 25 countries. The two bodies also share 27 common member churches.

The meeting, between the two bodies, which ended on February 1st, resulted in the creation of a document titled, ‘World Reformed Communion: A Proposal for a New Global Entity for Reformed Christians (to succeed the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council).’

The document stated that all current members churches of both bodies would unite and become members of the new World Reformed Communion.

In addition, it also recommends that other Reformed, Presbyterian, Congregational, Waldensian, First Reformation, United and Uniting traditions who affirm the basis of the new body be invited to join.

Other agencies and theological institutions of the Reformed movement were also recommended to be invited into active affiliation with the World Reformed Communion.

The leaders recommended the following callings for the new worldwide body:

- to foster Reformed confessional identity and communion among Reformed churches;
- to promote justice in the economy and the earth and to work for reconciliation in the world;
- to encourage the renewal of Reformed worship and spiritual life as a global family of God’s people;
- to aid leadership development and the nurture of the covenant community;
- to promote the full participation of women and youth in all aspects of the church’s life;
- to renew a passion among Reformed Christians for God’s mission, both witness and service, in a spirit of partnership and unity.