The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is currently holding a significant week-long Strategic Programme Planning Group (SPPG) meeting and Communion Statement Drafting Workshop from April 7–13 in Newark, USA. Gathering representatives from across the global Reformed family, the meeting is marked by honest reflection, strategic visioning, and bold commitments to renew and deepen the WCRC’s global witness amid a world in crisis.

Taking place just months before the 2025 General Council in Chiang Mai, Thailand, this final meeting of the current SPPG cycle serves as a milestone in assessing the WCRC’s work since 2017 and in laying crucial groundwork for the future.

Rev. Dr. Hanns Lessing, executive secretary for communion and theology, emphasized the importance of this gathering in shaping the Communion’s theological direction: “This is not only a moment of evaluation, but of discernment—seeking where the Spirit is calling us next as a global Reformed family.”

General Secretary Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi added: “As we journey toward the 2025 General Council in Chiang Mai, we do so amid a world more fractured and fragile than when we last gathered in Leipzig. In Leipzig in 2017 under the theme ‘Living God, renew and transform us,’ we prayed for deep renewal and bold transformation—within ourselves, our churches, and the world. Today, the need is even more urgent. We see the faces of injustice—etched by race, gender, and climate—and signs of lost hope even among our own communities. But we are not a people of despair. This final SPPG meeting is not merely a checkpoint; it is a recommitment to our calling. It is a time to discern God’s will anew, to rekindle the faith we proclaimed in Leipzig, to persevere in our shared witness, and to transform our communion with bold and living hope.”

The week’s sessions engage deeply with programme desk accountability reports, theological initiatives, and ongoing concerns such as Indigenous rights, disability justice, human sexuality, and youth inclusion. Participants acknowledged achievements while also candidly addressing limitations—especially those linked to financial constraints, the lingering impact of COVID-19, and challenges in communication and staffing.

In the coming days, the delegates will also address the WCRC’s response to urgent global conflicts and theological discernment. With the 2025 General Council in view, the meeting will finalize strategic input into the GC Workbook and confirm the need for clearer communication and impact pathways from global decisions to local congregations. Participants emphasized that the WCRC’s work must inspire—not merely inform—its member churches and grassroots communities.

The gathering will conclude with a Communion Statement—a theological document intended to guide the WCRC’s identity and mission into the future. Drawing from historic processes and ecumenical dialogues, participants will draft a text that embodies the spirit of unity, justice, and hope.

As the meeting began, participants reiterated that the WCRC is not simply an organization but a Spirit-led movement. With new networks forming, prophetic theological voices emerging, and a deepened commitment to global solidarity, the WCRC will leave Newark with renewed purpose—and a clear call to persevere in witness as a sign of God’s justice and hope in the world.