The WCC is celebrating 70 years of ecumenical endeavour. Five writers from different Christian denominations share their involvement.

1. Elizabeth Mackie OP, former assistant editor of Tui Motu magazine, is the Congregational Leader of the Dominican Sisters.

I visited the World Council of Churches only once. I was struck by the chapel in the ecumenical centre with its simplicity, openness and symbolism. The streams of water depicted in the mosaic floor had a striking resemblance to the braided rivers of Te Waipounamu, land of my birth. The streams are distinct and separate and from time to time floods link the disparate strands into larger connected masses of water. This is a powerful image of the ecumenical movement: distinct Christian traditions, moving separately on their distinct paths, all formed through the waters of baptism, all moving towards the same ocean of God’s love.

The WCC has carried this vision faithfully for 70 years. It calls all of us to respect one another and our individual denominational traditions, to reverence one another and the paths on which we walk side by side and to deepen our relationships so that we can speak and act as one in our very divided world. Respect, reverence, relationship are for me the three Rs of ecumenism.

I have been privileged as a Roman Catholic to enter deeply into ecumenical life through Christian World Service and through the Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand. The former took me into the work of Churches round the world as they strive to bring peace and justice to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities on Earth. The latter came onto the New Zealand scene as an extraordinarily creative gift of the Spirit, challenging us to greater inclusion, a search for consensus, a thirst for justice — especially to the indigenous people of this land — and a yearning for greater unity.

The Conference did not survive but the spirit lives on in this land through women and men who continue to work together as Christians for the good of all peoples and the care for all creation. Pope Francis suggests that “unity is achieved by journeying. When we pray together and collaborate together in proclaiming the Gospel and in the service of others, we are already united.”

2. Rev Ray Coster is the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand.

One of the joys and privileges of my 40-year ministry has been my involvement in the World Council of Churches (WCC).

I have just returned from representing the New Zealand member Churches at the Central Committee meeting in Geneva on the WCC’s 70th anniversary. A particular highlight was Pope Francis’s visit and message: “Dear brothers and sisters, I have desired to come here, a pilgrim in quest of unity and peace. I thank God because here I have found you, brothers and sisters already making this same journey.” It was also notable that four members from North Korean Churches attended.

Three words sum up why I consider the WCC important and its impact on me: unity, justice and peace.

On 23 August 1948 the WCC was created in Amsterdam as a visible sign of Jesus’s prayer: “Father, may all be one ... so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21). To meet in Central Committee, or at a WCC Assembly, is to sit with people from almost every country and Christian denomination in the world and feel “at home”. We learn, grow and experience the depth and breadth of God’s love as expressed through the Christian Church.

But unity is not an end in itself. Ecumenism and mission are closely intertwined. The Church was given Good News to tell and we share that best when we are united.

While the WCC is not an aid or development organisation its work and influence make a difference in the world. It is encouraging to look back over 70 years and reflect on the influence of the ecumenical family in matters of justice and peace. For example, the Program to Combat Racism and the move toward peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula today. The WCC speaks for the voiceless, seeks justice for vulnerable and marginalised peoples and advocates for peace in every troubled spot on Earth. It accompanies the indigenous people of the world in their quest for justice. It walks with those living with disability. In walking a pilgrimage of justice and peace for all the WCC is reflecting the heart of God (Is 1:17).

In New Zealand we may underestimate our significance on the world stage. But many Churches around the world are grateful to the New Zealand Churches for accompanying them on their journey. This two-way blessing of Church to Church is a reason for rejoicing in this 70th anniversary.

3. Rev Angus MacLeod came from Edinburgh to New Zealand in the 1950s to minister in Baptist churches including Oxford Terrace Church in Christchurch.

As I reflect on the World Council of Churches, two significant experiences come to my mind.

The first goes back to a war-time experience. I was invited to attend a Presbyterian-Methodist Young Men’s Easter Camp at Waikanae near Wellington in 1942. I was only 16 then. One of the speakers was Rev Bob Thornley who was described in the camp programme as “just back from the famous Amsterdam World Conference”. Bob Thornley, in private chats and in public speeches, shared his experience of the founding of the World Council of Churches. I caught the ecumenical vision at that time and have been a loyal supporter of WCC since.

My second experience happened 30 years later. During that time I had attended numerous WCC meetings, met WCC leaders and guided staff members around the country. But it was not until 1975 that I received an invitation to attend a World Assembly. So, along with other delegates, I travelled to Nairobi, Kenya for the 5th Assembly. It lasted for two-and-a half-weeks. I attended inspiriting rallies, bible studies, group discussions and acted as secretary of a committee. After the Assembly I reported back to the New Zealand Churches: “I give this report with a deep gratitude to God for a rich experience of Christian fellowship and for the opportunity to learn afresh that Jesus Christ frees and unites.”

I have attended other notable WCC meetings, but the Nairobi experience stands out in my memory despite the fact that it happened in a very different era over 40 years ago. Since then, while I have never had such an experience as that in Kenya, I have been able to keep in touch with the fresh challenges and thinking that the WCC is bringing to the new world of this century.

4. Rev John Bluck was the Anglican Bishop of Waiapu 2002-2008 and is a writer and author of several books.

A long-time staffer sat in an airport lounge in India and said in reply to a colleague who asked him what it was like to give your life to the World Council: “It feels like being sent into space and not ever helped to find a way of landing back on Earth.”

Thirty years after returning to New Zealand after my 10 years on the Council staff, I still feel as though I haven’t landed properly, let alone succeeded in anchoring that ecumenical experience back home.

For a while it was easier. The Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand flourished like a beautiful flowering plant — then died. My own Anglican Church, having killed off the Plan for Union, made some brave noises about ecumenical action and mutual recognition of ministries. But those sounds spluttered and faded and the long winter of ecumenical retreat followed. And when the sun breaks out as it occasionally does, the news goes unreported — like the recent visit of Pope Francis to the WCC headquarters which was ignored by our media.

Despite all that, there are still signs of real collaboration at local Church level. The interfaith movement shows the most exciting promise, as does a stirring of eco-theology.

But the international ambitions and energy of the World Council don’t inspire Church leaders as they once did.

The desirability of a movement that embraces all Christians and finds common ground with all people of faith is more urgent than ever. But the trigger to reignite that movement in Aotearoa remains elusive. The old dream is yet to find a landing pad again.

5. Tara Tautari is a Senior Parliamentarian support person and represents the Methodist Church on the Board of Christian World Service.

I’ve always believed that to be Methodist in Aotearoa is to be ecumenical. Belonging to Taha Māori within the Methodist Church and growing up as a rangatahi, we were encouraged to envisage and work towards an oikumene that was inclusive, diverse, interconnected and faith-filled. Our own Methodist bicultural journey set a standard for how we chose to be sisters and brothers in Christ in this land, and despite the many challenges along the way, we were committed to growing together, not only as Methodists, but also through our membership with other ecumenical bodies.

With this understanding I first travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, to take up my work with the WCC. I began as an intern in 1995 with the Programme to Combat Racism (Indigenous Peoples’ Desk), and then in 2001 was appointed Programme Executive with the Education and Ecumenical Formation team.

What was so special about my time with the WCC is that it gave me the opportunity to work alongside member Churches around the world. Like us at home, these Churches sought to live out an ecumenism that was contextual, relevant, and that had at its heart a profound desire for transformational encounter. One of the greatest strengths of the WCC has been its ability to provide the ecumenical space where such transformational encounters can occur. From its very first assembly in 1948 — when it said of its membership “we intend to stay together” — the WCC has continued to build a fellowship of Churches who stand shoulder to shoulder in critical solidarity, while calling each other to visible unity.

On a personal level I have been moved to witness the reconciliation and healing that can occur when Churches together can speak truth to power and set themselves on a journey towards justice and peace. I consider it the greatest privilege to have been able to serve with the WCC and in some small way contribute to its legacy of worldwide ecumenical engagement.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 230 September 2018: 16-17.