‘HISTORIC’ WORLD CHRISTIAN FORUM ISSUES CALL FOR DIALOGUE
Fredrick Nzwili

ENI
9 November 2007 | 07-0871 |

Hubert Van Beek at the close of the Global Christian Forum.

Nairobi (ENI). Leaders meeting in Kenya belonging to all main Christian
traditions, and from countries ranging from Armenia to Zimbabwe,
have pledged to convene international, local and regional meetings
to deepen reconciliation and understanding.

"Recognising that unity is first and foremost God’s gift through the
work of the Holy Spirit, our commitment is to press on in promoting
ever greater understanding and cooperation among Christians, while
respecting the diversity of our identities, traditions and individual
gifts," the leaders said in a statement issued at the end of the 6-9
November meeting.

The gathering, called the Global Christian Forum, brought together
about 240 leaders from Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Roman Catholic,
Evangelical, Pentecostal and other churches, and international
organizations

"This is an historic event for world Christianity," said Roman Catholic
Archbishop Fernando Capalla from Davao in the Philippines.

The forum idea was originally proposed in the mid-1990s by the
Rev. Konrad Raiser, a German theologian who was then general secretary
of the World Council of Churches.

He suggested a forum could reach out to Roman Catholic, Pentecostal
and Evangelical churches that do not belong to the Geneva-based WCC
grouping, whose 347 member churches are drawn predominantly from
Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox traditions.

The WCC said the forum at Limuru near Nairobi brought together the
broadest range of Christian traditions ever gathered at a global
meeting.

"I think the expectations have been met. We have a set of good
proposals to go into the future," Hubert Van Beek, the main organizer
of the meeting, told Ecumenical News International on 9 November at
the conclusion of the event.

Still, he acknowledged areas where more discussion was needed between
the various Christian traditions.

Some adherents of Pentecostalism, and others within Evangelical
Christianity, have come in for criticism by other Christians and
members of other religions for engaging in proselytising, Van Beek
noted.

"That is something you cannot solve in one meeting. We need to do
more work," he said.

The general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the
Rev. Ishmael Noko, told ENI that participants had agreed to continue
the process as a forum with a small structure.

"I had been concerned when I came here that there could be perceptions
that the forum is intended to replace the existing ecumenical
structures," he explained.

The forum, Noko said, would be a place where members of different
traditions could engage in dialogue to promote understanding.

In an interview, the Rev. Setri Nyomi, the general secretary of the
World Alliance of Reformed Churches, said the dialogue at the Kenya
meeting would have failed if it were not followed up at a regional
and local level.

"We have been able to see that we live in global realities and are
global Christians. We are speaking about globalised Christianity,"
said Bishop Nareg Alemezian of the Armenian Apostolic Church from
Lebanon. "We are responsible for taking this spirit with us to our
churches."