Global reformed bodies start planning merger

Members of the governing bodies of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) will meet in joint sessions for the first time from 6 to 10 October in Utrecht.

The meeting will consolidate planning for the historic merger of the two organizations into the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). A uniting General Council will be held in June 2010 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. The theme of the General Council will be "Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace".

WCRC will represent 80 million Reformed Christians around the world. WARC has 75 million members in 214 churches in 107 countries. REC has 12 million members in 39 churches in 25 countries.

The Utrecht meeting includes WARC's Officers and REC's Executive Committee. They will work together to finalise a draft constitution, shape the structure and vision of WCRC and deal with numerous practical considerations. They will also launch a WCRC logo.

"This important joint meeting demonstrates the commitment of these two Reformed bodies to grow together in the coming months," said WARC general secretary Setri Nyomi. "It is a great opportunity to meet our sisters and brothers in REC and to make concrete our dream of a new truly vital Reformed communion that will meet the challenge of God's call to justice and unity in the 21st century."

Added Richard van Houten, general secretary of REC, "It will be the first time the leaders of the two organisations will have to work together and they can send an important message to our members about how the cultures of WARC and REC will blend together, working for the common mission God has given them."

The gathering is being hosted and supported by the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, which is a member of both WARC and REC. It is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands and the result of a 2004 merger of the Netherlands Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Both general secretaries expressed their gratitude to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands for hosting the meeting. WARC and REC leaders will worship in local churches on the day prior to the meeting, bringing messages from the home denominations from around the world.