September 22, 2004

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has announced the appointment of a new executive secretary for communications to its General Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.

John P. Asling has been the minister for mission and communication for the Hamilton Conference of the United Church of Canada for the past 16 years and prior to that was a journalist in Canada at four daily newspapers over 13 years.

He began work at WARC on July 1, 2004 and became executive secretary for communications on September 1, 2004.

The Alliance is a fellowship of 75 million Christians from 215 churches in 107 countries. Four hundred delegates from the member churches met in WARC's 24th General Council in Accra, Ghana, July 29 to August 12.

American Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk or senior staff person of the Presbyterian Church (USA), was elected to a seven-year term as president of the Alliance at the meeting. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Kirkpatrick has served on the WARC executive committee and the central committee of the World Council of Churches.

The general secretary of WARC is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, and a former lecturer in pastoral theology who has also served in an executive capacity with the All Africa Conference of Churches.

The WARC General Council also produced a major statement, called the Accra Confession, challenging the neoliberal economic globalization.

World Alliance of Reformed Churches