1983 WCC Vancouver

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 Gathered for life. Official report of the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches

Vancouver  

Denominationally, the delegates hailed from 

Reformed (176), 

Lutheran (122),

Eastern Orthodox (125), 

Anglican (89), 

Methodist (95), 

United (82), 

Oriental Orthodox (44), 

Baptist (38), 

Moravian (11), 

Disciples (13), 

Old Catholic (8), 

Independent (6), 

Pentecostal (11), 

Kimbanguist (6), 

Mar Thoma (3), 

Menonnite (2), 

Brethren (2) 

and other (14) churches.

 1.6 The Canadian context Canada’s cultures and concerns made a strong impact on the Sixth Assembly. A native arbour, “a sacred meditative area among the trees”, was set aside on the campus of the University of British Columbia. A sacred flame burned nearby for the duration of the Assembly. Appropriately, it was lighted by an elder ol the Musqueam tribe, on whose lands the university now stands. A 15-metre high totem pole, carved by Native inmates of Agassiz Mountain Prison to symbolize humanity’s spiritual quest through the ages, was raised on the campus during the Assembly. It will find a permanent home in Geneva. Through plenary presentations and public forums, parti¬ cipants became aware of the thinking ol Native Canadians particu¬ larly concerning land claims. A host programme, organized by the Vancouver Planning Committee, meant that some participants were able to stay with local families for a few days before the Assembly began or following its close. August 7 — Visitation Sunday — saw many Assembly people worshipping with local congregations in the Vancouver area, on  Vancouver Island and in Seattle, Washington (USA). Canada Post issued a special stamp, with a cross motif, to mark the Assembly. Then there were the Canadian volunteers, thousands of them. They did everything from driving buses to sewing tote bags in which participants bagged around their ecumenical documents (the stitching must have been strong: these bags held together even as the Assembly chewed its way through fourteen tons of paper). They sang in choirs, prepared banners, helped with registrations, even presented everyone with cushions to soften the Assembly’s impact on sensitive ecumenical posteriors. The Vancouver Planning Committee had done an excellent job. The Committee richly deserved the standing ovation given by the Assembly to its friendly, unobtrusively efficient hosts. 

1.7 Related activities

Two pre-Assembly events had a significant impact on the Sixth Assembly. About 300 participants, including some men, took part in a four-day women’s meeting. Some 200 young people met as youth participants. These programmes enabled them, among other things, to become familiar with Assembly programme and procedures. Both events helped foster a sense of corporate identity and confidence in these two important minority (in delegation terms, anyway) groups.

Ploughshares, a coffee house where peace and justice concerns were aired throughout the Assembly, operated out of one of the campus buildings. The Well was a focal point for women’s concerns. An Asian art exhibition, supervised by Japan’s Mr Yushi Nomura, contained more than 50 works from seven countries. Special interest groups were free to present their particular concerns in the Agora, a market place of ideas and convictions. Groups represented there ranged from Canada’s Boy Scouts through the United Nations Association to an organization advocating creation science - some sixty in all. There was a film festival, a children’s art exhibition on the Assembly theme, a display of liturgical art sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops - and more.

This public programme, organized by the Vancouver Planning Committee, and the Visitors’ Programme, set up by the WCC for the droves of accredited and daily visitors, offered an extraordinary range of Assembly-related events on campus and in downtown Vancouver. It was a feast of opportunities to meet church leaders and hear significant voices from around the world. Some delegates must have been sorely tempted to play truant from their programme in order to share the excitement of the visitors.

In the midst of the mayhem, the happily harassed staff of the WCC bookshop were doing a roaring trade. Special interest groups responded to the Assembly in different ways. One of the most striking reactions came from “Evangelicals” who, towards the end of the Assembly, put their names to an open letter saying Vancouver’s spiritual and biblical orientation had “challenged stereotypes some of us (evangelicals) have had of the WCC”. The letter took a strong line against fringe groups that had picketed delegates and distributed “scurrilous” literature. While offering some criticisms of the Sixth Assembly, the letter called for active participation in the ecumenical movement and challenged “that all too popular evangelical heresy - that the way to renew the body of Christ is to separate from it and relentlessly criticize it”.

Finally there was Canvas, the very professional daily newspaper of the Assembly without which nobody could have begun to have an overview of all that went on in this action-packed gathering.

Archbishop Robert Runcie (Church of England) said that the churches were greatly indebted to the WCC for the work reflected in this report. He applauded its understanding of the relation between Church unity and the renewal of human community, the World Council’s essential role in bilateral church-to-church conversations and the reception process foreseen for the Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM) text. Bishop Gunnar Lislerud, of the Church of Norway, urged that the reception of BEM be delayed no longer than necessary; during the reception period Faith and Order should not be overloaded with other responsibilities. Dr Dorothea Vorlaender (EKD, Federal Republic of Germany) expressed some concern lest the Lutheran emphasis on the preached word be neglected with the BEM emphasis on the eucharist. The document should be careful about advocating “the Lima Liturgy”, said Rev. Michel Bertrand (Reformed, France), for neither the Assembly nor the churches have had an opportunity to discuss it. 

Metropolitan Chrysostomos ofMyra (Ecumenical Patriarchate, Turkey) found it an excellent, well-balanced report. Concern was expressed by Dr Margaret Sonnenday (Methodist, USA) that there should be an explicit commitment to follow up the study on the Community of Women and Men in the Church, as an aspect of the relation between Christian unity and human community. 

Archbishop Michael Peers (Anglican, Canada) evoked the principle of lex orandi, lex credendi: not only does doctrine influence how we pray, but common worship and shared witness help shape doctrinal consensus.

Dr Crow, responding, said that the BEM text understood the eucharist as both proclaimed word and celebrated supper. The reference to the Lima liturgy was not to suggest that it had become a normative liturgical text, but to draw the churches’ attention to our experience and excitement in using it at Vancouver. The officers of the Issue Group, in polishing the text, would take into account other comments that had been made.

3.6 STRUGGLING FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN DIGNITY

Ms Theressa Hoover (Methodist, USA), Moderator of the sixth Issue Group, presented its report.

A number of particular concerns surfaced in the debate. Dr K. V. Varughese (Mar Thoma, India) highlighted the role of small action groups within the churches. Ms Heather fohnston, of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, wanted mention of the WCC’s Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society as one tool the churches have for assisting the poor and powerless. Mr Arno Glitz (Lutheran, Brazil) said the document reflected his country's situation, and Ms Nancy Pereira speaking for Bishop Isac Aco (Lutheran, Brazil), asked churches in the affluent nations to pay more attention to the relationship between international capital and the growing impoverishment of countries in the southern hemisphere.

The major criticism, however, concerned the tenor of the report as a whole. Rev. Horst Becker (EKD, Lederal Republic of Germany) found the militant language and apocalyptic imagery inappropriate. Rev. Ron O’Grady (Churches of Christ, New Zealand) agreed; he called for less triumphalism and a more sophisticated analysis of the structures of oppres¬ sion. Dr Ulrich Duchrow (EKD, Federal Republic of Germany) defended the language of struggle and conflict: anything less would fail to reflect the experience ofpeople in so many parts of the world today. The Assembly agreed with the critics, however, and the report was referred back to the Issue Group’s officers so that a revised text could be considered by the Central Committee.

32. Churches are encouraged to experiment with alternative forms of communication. We commend to the consideration of church communicators such forms as are described in the book Opening Eyes and Ears.* Other alternatives involve the search for

* This book, recently published by the WCC in cooperation with the World Associ¬ ation for Christian Communication and the Lutheran World Federation, presents examples of alternative media experiments. We commend it to the consideration of communicators within and outside churches.

d) a special consultation on relations between the WCC and the Lutheran World Federation (May 1981) produced an “Aide Memoire” outlining several guiding principles on relationships between the WCC and the LWF and several areas for future reflec¬ tion, study and cooperation.

Jacobson, Rev. S.T., mo, Lutheran, Canada Business Committee

Binhammer, Rev. Dr Robert J., mo, Lutheran, Canada Finance Committee

Payne, Rt Rev. Roland, mo, Lutheran, Liberia Nominations Committee

Delegates from Lutheran Member Churches in Canada and USA

Binhammer, Rev. Dr Robert J., mo, Lutheran Church in America/Canada

Crumley, Bishop James R., mo, Lutheran Church in America

Currens, Rev. Dr Gerald E., mo, Lutheran Church in America

Harmon, Ms Janice, fl, American Lutheran Church

Hustad, Rev. Jack, mo, American Lutheran Church

Jacobson, Rev. S.T., mo, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada

Johnson, Rev. Dr Ronald, mo, Lutheran Church in America

Koob, Ms Kathryn, fl, American Lutheran Church

Metzger, Ms Angela Serpe, fl, Lutheran Church in America

Preus, Bishop David M., mo, American Lutheran Church

Rusch, Dr William G., mo, Lutheran Church in America

Small, Ms Sheila, yfl, American Lutheran Church

Unti, Ms Kim, yfl, Lutheran Church in America

Whiterabbit, Ms Renee, yfl, American Lutheran Church

Youngquist, Ms Margaret, yfl, American Lutheran Church

Held, Ms Christa, fl, Lutheran World Federation

Man Jr, Rev. Carl H., mo, Lutheran World Federation

Keil, Rev. Herbert J., mo, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, Western Region

Guests

King, Ms Coretta Scott

Sjoberg, Bishop Donald W., mo, Lutheran Church of America, Canada Section

Vanier, Mr Jean, ml, Roman Catholic Church

Advisor

Matthews, Prof. Robert, ml, Anglican Church of Canada

Stendahl, Rev. Prof. Krister, mo, Lutheran Church in America

Stewards

Brown, Mr Scott, yml, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada

Sigalet, Mr Phillip, yml, Lutheran Church of Canada

WCC STaff

Weingartner, Mr Erich, ml, Lutheran Church America (Canada Section)

Co-Opted Staff

Mitsui, Rev. Tad, mo, United Church of Canada

WCC Member Churches CANADA

The Anglican Church of Canada

Canadian Council of Churches**

Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

The United Church of Canada