July 5, 2010

GENEVA – The newly-formed World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) brings "richness" to the ecumenical movement, said Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), who was present in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, in June when Reformed churches from around the world united in the new organization.

Noko said he hoped that the WCRC would find a way of "associating itself" with the discussions involving Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Methodists and others on the issue of justification by faith, a key issue of the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

"I know there are some problems," he said, because the current key document [the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification] signed more than ten years ago by Lutheran and Roman Catholic officials "does not go far enough to articulate issues of justice."

"The Reformed are very strong on issues of personal justice and justice in church and society," said Noko.

The WCRC was formed from the merger of the Geneva-based World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council, based in Grand Rapids. It includes 230 member churches in 108 countries representing 80 million Reformed Christians worldwide.

Commenting on some of the discussions at the WCRC's uniting General Council, the LWF general secretary said he had "observed that the demographics of the Communion of Reformed Churches is heavily weighted in the Southern hemisphere." He also noted that WCRC resolved to guarantee that women and young people had roles in the international organization.

On ecumenical progress following the Joint Declaration, which was affirmed in 2006 by the World Methodist Council, Noko said a group of theologians from the Reformed churches, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches is already at work studying the "justification" issue, "from the perspective of the whole Bible."

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