Voting in rapid order so that they could join for closing worship, delegates to the WCRC’s 27th General Council completed their decisions on Finance, the Constitution and the Message that explains what they’ve been up to in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for the past 10 days, and where the WCRC is headed.
Before that, they heard from the new WCRC president, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson. “This week, this has been God’s house for us, a place where we are reminded of God’s love given to us,” she said of the Empress Hotel and Convention Center. “We ask for your prayers as we commit to lead for the next few years.”
“Thank you,” she said, “for the many ways you are going to say yes when we come knocking on your door.”
Finance and Unfinished Business
Speaking on behalf of the Drafting Team, the Rev. Dr. George Marchinkowski, general secretary of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa, led delegates through changes to both the finance and unfinished business reports.
Among the finance items, delegates determined to approve a fundraising campaign which will be named and shaped by the Executive Committee. The Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, the interim general secretary, said raising $1 million or so each year would allow the WCRC to respond to natural disasters and to the needs of people in the Global South.
The unfinished business category included changes to various reports, including suggestions made by discernment groups. Among them was a rejection of “the ideology of Christian Zionism as it is fundamentally evil, racist and a tragedy to the gospel.”
Delegates also referred to the Executive Committee specific concerns heard during public hearings, including the Cuba blockade and humanitarian crisis, South Sudan, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, the war between Russia and Ukraine, Tatars in Crimea, sexual violence in churches, HIV and AIDS, and kidnappings and killings of Christians in Northern Nigeria.
Delegates voted on proposed amendments to the Constitution, which all passed with at least two-thirds in support.
One amended Article IX to require that each delegation be gender balanced as well as balanced between lay and clergy. Another requires member churches with four or more delegates to include at least one person age 30 or younger in its delegation.
The Message
The Message, a document that explains accomplishments of the 27th General Council and describes what the WCRC stands for, received some minor edits, including inserting “A Message to the Churches” as a subtitle. A paragraph thanking the groups that hosed the General Council, including the Church of Christ in Thailand, was moved up for greater emphasis.
“And that, Moderator, is the Drafting Team signing off,” Marchinkowski said to applause.
A message from the next general secretary
The Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock of India, who was unanimously elected last month to succeed Nyomi as the next general secretary, started by stating, “I love this family of God. I stand before you today with deep humility and heartfelt gratitude.”
“I stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said, giving thanks in particular to Nyomi and the Rev. Najla Kassab, the current WCRC president. “For me, this Communion is my home. I literally grew up in this Communion. My theological vision has been shaped by it, and my leadership has been formed by it.”
The church, he said, can be defined “by the faithful witness by those on the margins.”
“We are called to re-imagine mission — not as saving the world, but presence, participation and partnership, especially with voices who have long been excluded,” Peacock said.
“We are not always on the same page,” Peacock noted, “but our Reformed traditions come from that same one Book, a book that calls us to witness and persevere in that witness.”
Nyomi thanked the many dozens of people who made the General Council the effective and meaningful event that it was. Kassab offered special thanks to the staff of the WCRC. “You persevered for all this time,” she said. “God was with you and God was with the Communion because you persevered.”
