an anglican vision for the world council of churches

An Anglican Vision for the World Council of Churches

Donald Anderson

[NTRODUCTION

We are the World Council of Churches! We value the WCC as a council of churches. Among the three hundred or more member churches are 34 churches or provinces of the Anglican communion. Each province is unique owing to cultural context, age and size, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each lives in a time of momentous transition in the world.

A little over a dozen of the 34 Anglican communion member churches responded (as of this writing) to the WCC request for study of the booklet Towards a Common Understanding and Vision of the World Council of Churches. Reasons for the silence of the overwhelming majority are suggested in this report, but the overall impression this creates is that the WCC does not communicate well, especially with small and middle-sized churches, and with churches in the South.

The Anglican communion, though it has its beginnings in the British Isles, has spread and continues to spread in all continents. This means that the communion is represented at the WCC now by other provinces as well. We see ourselves as a family of churches sharing a common heritage, ministry, patterns of worship and sacramental life. The classical Anglican position of “comprehensiveness” is not about the middle ground, but about holding rich diversity and breadth of understanding together without compromise. As the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Runcie, has said, “The Anglican communion is radically provisional”, awaiting the emergence of the visible and reunited “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church’. The authority of Anglican communion instruments - the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth conferences, the Anglican Consultative Council and the primates’ meetings - is styled “moral”, “consultative” and “conciliar” but not “legislative”.

0 Donald Anderson is director for ecumenical relations and studies of the Anglican Communion office in London, England.

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AN ANGLICAN VISION FOR THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

These instruments have influence in discerning, articulating and forming the mind of the communion, thus binding the provinces together in interdependence. Other things also sustain the communion, such as the Anglican cycle of prayer, companion dioceses programmes and the partners in mission consultations.

The Lambeth conferences and the other instruments offer extensive and important evidence of Anglican ecumenical commitment and goals, including a series of resolutions related to the World Council of Churches:

We endorse the hope expressed by the Uppsala assembly that “the members of the World Council of Churches, committed to each other, should work for the time when a genuinely universal council may once more speak for all Christians”. Our interim confessional and ecumenical organizations should be tested by their capacity to lead in this direction. 1

The conference] acknowledges the pressing need stated by the Nairobi assembly of the WCC that we should develop more truly sustained and sustaining relationships among the churches, as we look towards the time when we can enjoy full conciliar fellowship.. .

[The conference] encourages the member churches of the Anglican communion to pursue with perseverance and hopefulness the search for full communion and mutual recognition of ministries between themselves and other world confessional families, internationally and locally.. .

[The conference] calls on member churches of the Anglican communion to review their commitment to ecumenical structure as well as bilateral conversations at various levels with a view to strengthening the common advance by all churches to the goal of visible unity.. . * [The conference] urges that, in this thirtieth anniversary year of the World Council of Churches, all churches of the Anglican communion reaffirm their support and strengthen their understanding of this body, which is not only the most comprehensive expression of the ecumenical movement, but also the chief vehicle of worldwide ecumenical cooperation and service. It also asks the WCC to accept the guidance given through section 3 of the conference, considering war and violence: 1) to re-examine our complicity with violence in its many forms; 2) to take with the utmost seriousness the question which the teaching of Jesus places

against all violence in human relationships. 3

[The conference] recognizes the World Council of Churches as a special instrument of God in bringing into fuller unity and mission those churches that confess “the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit”, and in expressing their commitment to justice, peace, and the integrity of creation ...

Encourages the provinces of the Anglican communion to fuller commitment to the work of the WCC as well as other councils.. .

Recommends that all such councils be as inclusive of the baptized as possible and that all churches be encouraged to contribute to the life and witness of such councils as fully as possible.. .

Expresses the hope that, through the councils, the churches are helped to function as closely as possible in accordance with the Lund principle, viz., that churches should do together all those things that deep differences of conviction do not compel them to do separately. 4

We observe that a dichotomy exists between “the ideal” of a relationship between Christian communities which place a commitment to shared mission at the very heart of each church’s life, and “the reality” of the WCC perceived as an entity separate from the member communions, carrying out the mission of the church in a parallel

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THE ECUMENICAL REVIEW

structure which is frequently regarded as one more membership association calling for support from scarce resources.

In support of the WCC request for participation in the study of a common understanding and vision, the Anglican Consultative Council and the primates of the Anglican communion encouraged the churches of the communion to respond to the WCC and also to share a copy of their response with the Anglican communion office for collation and reflection. A small committee was set up for the purpose. The committee met in Toronto, Canada, 5-8 July 1994. Its membership was the Rev. Alyson Barnett-Cowan (Canada), the Rev. Rosa Brown (Costa Rica), Mr Thomas Kedini (Sudan), the Rev. William Norgren (convener, USA), the Rt Rev. Barry Rogerson (England) and the Rev. Donald Anderson (secretary, Anglican communion office).

I. REPRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION

The World Council of Churches is not a universal authority controlling what Christians should believe and do. After nearly five decades, however, it has become a remarkable community of more than three hundred member churches. These churches represent a rich diversity of cultural backgrounds and traditions, worshipping in dozens of languages and living under different political systems.

A. Representation Anglican respondents raised some concerns about how the relationships between

member churches and the WCC and with each other can best be fostered. One critical area is that of representation. The following comments show something of the problem from the perspective of different churches of the Anglican communion:

To bring about a “sustained and sustaining” relationship between the communions and the WCC. and between the communions themselves, a change in the composition of the WCC assembly and the central committee is needed. Representatives of the Christian World Communions are present but on the margin of the central committee and assembly meetings. (USA)

The structure and working style of the WCC does not always provide opportunity for all the churches to make their positions clear. (England)

There is a tension between the involvement of church leaders and broader representation from the churches. Both are necessary for the good of the Council and the churches. We feel that in recent years fewer church leaders have been involved, leading to the work of the Council having less of an impact on the agenda of the churches themselves. (USA)

There is considerable disparity in size between churches which are members of the Council. This means that care has to be taken over fair representation at meetings and assemblies. (England)

Somehow people have to feel connected to the whole community of the church on the global scene, people relating to people, not church offices to church offices. (Canada)

Such representation must reflect not simply a “tokenism”, ensuring that a particular age or gender group are not excluded from attendance at ecumenical events, but rather reflect a real involvement of those same groups at every level of the life of the church. (Ireland)

Arising out of these reflections we note some problems and make the following suggestions for improvements:

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1 . Representation of Christian World Communions We suggest that, in suitable proportions, they should be members of the central

committee and the assembly alongside representatives of the territorial churches. Each world communion could be left to decide on’the basis of its own

ecclesiology how the two kinds of representatives are chosen and related to each other, and what their accountabilities are to each other, to the communion and to the Council.

2 . Regionalization It is difficult to have all churches represented, and therefore it is necessary to

regionalize the work of the Council in order to enable every church to make its contribution. This regionalization could take into consideration culture, language, worship and other factors. Persons chosen from one member church could be mandated by other churches in the region to take their concerns to the Council on their behalf and report back.

3. Preparation It is very important that representatives of each church or region be very clear in

the responsibilities that they assume. A church representative who is better informed and better connected with both the structure of the WCC and their own church will be more able to access and influence the work of the Council.

Unfortunately, there is only a small group of people for whom the optimal conditions exist. Small churches may well not be represented at all. Some churches have representatives who, from long experience and dedication, understand very well how to operate in the WCC; however, they may at the same time have become somewhat divorced from the life of their own church, or be so specialized that they are unable to interpret the work of the Council in a way that can be received at the local level. Conversely, representatives who come to WCC events well-briefed and with a mandate to bring a particular perspective of their church may find themselves unable to raise that issue in the complex arenas of the Council. The additional obligations on some representatives to speak for a particular constituency (“youth’ or “women”, or a whole region) may make it doubly difficult for them to speak for their churches or regions as well as their constituencies. We ask the WCC to be especially sensitive to this issue.

Both the WCC, the churches and the region have responsibility to provide an educational process of what they expect from the delegates. Member churches need to take responsibility for making sure that WCC representatives are connected to church structures and are enabled to use existing networks to communicate the results of their participation.

4 . Consultation We stress that for all WCC events member churches should be consulted about

who is to be named as a representative. The Council must ensure that representatives have the full support and endorsement of their local church, and/or region where applicable, so that they can be properly mandated and results of their involvement be received.

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B. Communication All of the Anglican provinces which responded identified communication as one of

the issues which needs to be addressed better both by the World Council of Churches and the member churches. The general concern of “communication” can be analyzed around: 1) ways in which member churches can bring concerns to the Council and communi-

cate authentically from their context; 2) ways in which the Council communicates its programmes and the results of its

deliberations to member churches; and 3) ways in which member churches can communicate the agenda of the World

Council to their own constituency; 4) In addition, there is a message which touches on working style: the need for

global and regional networking so that churches can communicate with each other.

1. Communicating concerns of member churches to the WCC We request the WCC to explore ways of inviting member churches to name their

churches’ most important issues, and to identify the context of the church from which they come. It is surely more important to ensure that people can address the principal issues of their church than it is to ensure balances by insisting on the presence of individuals from particular categories.

World communions may have a role in helping their member churches identify and raise issues for the WCC. The American response invites attention to this matter:

Inter-Anglican meetings could discern an Anglican contribution to World Council agenda, while World Council meetings could discern a contribution to Anglican meeting agendas. (USA)

Churches also communicate with the Council through their staff links. More attention needs to be paid to helping churches connect with the right WCC staff. Even when a member church has a person from its church or region on the WCC staff, it may be difficult to have that person assist the church in accessing the information they need; most churches do not however have that luxury. Producing a simple document outlining not only the structure, but the key staff to address on particular matters, would be helpful. Often it is support staff who can be of the most assistance if churches know who they are and what their responsibilities are. ‘

WCC member churches are also responsible for communications. Staff of member churches, national and regional organizations should be encouraged to build up relationships with their counterparts at the WCC, and vice versa. Part of the work of these relationships would be to share agenda and resources, and information about the particular context and style of working in the area, with a view to avoid duplication, to assist each other’s work, and to enable communication to occur in the most appropriate way.

2. Communication from the WCC to member churches Anglican respondents are agreed that the WCC should produce fewer but better

reports. Shorter study guides with a clear writing style could be translated into more languages and would help the reception of the WCC at the local level. Do not the

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regions need to produce their own study guides based on guidelines provided by the WCC?

We suggest that the WCC consider assigning each staff person (when possible) to be the contact for a group of member churches. The WCC should consult with member churches where possible about these assignments, and communicate clearly with member churches about the appointment. Information flow could be facilitated by such a person.

Team visits from the WCC, perhaps including the staff assigned to the region, should be arranged after much closer consultation with the member churches. Respondents cite instances in which team visits were made to areas which were not really those of most significance to the member churches, or even to the region, but were determined by WCC staff. Team visits can be the occasion of real education, not only for those already connected with the WCC and with church structures, but also with the public at large. But they need very careful preparation with those in the locality. There should be guidelines for all the staff of the WCC involved in preparing team visits.

Other comments in the section on internal operations also relate to this issue.

3. Communicating within member churches As noted above, member churches need to take responsibility for making sure that

WCC representatives are connected to church structures and are enabled to use existing networks to communicate the results of their participation.

A conscious effort on the part of the WCC to produce simple, direct communiquks at the close of meetings would assist representatives in communicating their work. One page, point-form summaries could be easily distributed by member churches. The use of computer networks for this purpose is also to be encouraged.

Member churches often do not know who is serving or has served in the WCC. Regional lists and addresses of participants could be communicated through computer networks (where possible) so that member churches can more easily draw on their expertise.

The keeping of the ecumenical memory is an important function for member churches. Where possible, church archivists and librarians are encouraged to keep easily accessible records of ecumenical work. We would urge the Anglican communion office to assist its member churches by collecting on a database all resolutions (international and provincial) relating to the WCC and its programmes, together with names and addresses of Anglican participants, and by making these available through the international Anglican information network.

Whenever WCC events are held, Anglican participants should meet regularly in the course of the event, for the building up of community, the sharing of information, and the consideration of a commcm interpretation of WCC work for the communion. To enable this to happen, the WCC should designate a time within the course of the event for Christian World Communions to meet.

4 . Networking A critical area for development is the education of member churches about each

other. The WCC already provides a valuable service, through its office of communication, in informing members of issues of significance to others. We would request that

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this work be undertaken with more attention to connecting churches who have issues in common. We note, for example, the concerns of the Church of Ireland:

The church in Ireland is conscious of its responsibility not only to receive enrichment from its ecumenical contacts, but also to make its distinctive contribution, and in that sense values the World Council of Churches as a forum within which directly and indirectly this contribution can be made. The Irish churches have gained experience, often in very sad circumstances, of the consequences of the alienation of minorities, the devastation caused by sectarianism, questions of national and ethnic identity and the role of the church in reconciliation and peace-making. Questions of attitudes to violence and indeed of pacifism which are frequently on the WCC agenda have a particular relevance for Irish Christians, and in all these areas there is scope for an Irish contribution.

Staff who are conscious of the concerns of one church or region should be able to assist them to make connections with another whose insights or resources could be of assistance. It is not necessary for member churches to meet only at the WCC or at WCC meetings.

All churches have gifts to share with others. We invite the WCC to consider asking specific churches or regions to do work on behalf of others, rather than relying on the costly and often inefficient method of inviting people from all over the world to a central place. If regions or churches take responsibility for specific agenda, they can work in their own language and style.

11. INTERNAL OPERATIONS

We welcome the more recent restructuring of the World Council of Churches and see it as having a significant effect on its life and work. The closer integration of the work of the four units, with a variety of streams, together with a greater financial accountability, has given the churches of the Anglican communion greater confidence in the work the Council undertakes. But we believe further rationalization is required. There seems to be some confusion over the role of the unit commissions, and the unit committees which meet within the central committee. This leads to confusion over where policy is set. Further, if the unit commissions do not meet regularly and at a time to feed into the central committee’s agenda, then there seems no justification for their existence. We recommend that a careful evaluation be made of the working of the unit structure.

A. Fewer meetings Because of the current financial climate affecting many of our churches we hope

the Council will look in particular at the number and the size of meetings that are planned. The following comments from Bangladesh, Canada, England, Ireland and Wales may suggest a way forward: 1. There is a desire that more meetings be outside Europe. 2. With the growth of regional councils of churches, e. g., the Conference of

European Churches, the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Pacific Conference of Churches, it would forward the ecumenical agenda to encourage

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regional meetings under the auspices of regional councils of churches to consider and work on subjects on behalf of the member churches of the WCC.

3. The WCC should take responsibility for encouraging the development and receiv- ing of work at a national and regional level, and only organize work that cannot be done regionally. The principal of subsidiarity should be made to work ecumeni- cally.

4. Closer links between the agendas of the world communions and those of the WCC would enable the world communions to contribute to the WCC agendas and vice versa.

These suggestions would require a radical change in the thinking and work of the WCC staff in Geneva. If implemented they would help member churches and others at the national and regional level to grow together. It would also begin to address the problem of ecumenical overload as programmes at present come from national and regional ecumenical bodies as well as from the WCC and world communions. Overload, as at least the Anglican response to this study has demonstrated, tends to produce a superficial response by only a few.

B. Programmes and priorities The programmes of the World Council of Churches are not well known at the local

church level. There are two issues involved: 1. The WCC sends reports and studies associated with its programmes to the member

churches. The churches do not always ensure that the appropriate material is disseminated to the appropriate levels of the church’s life.

2. Where the reports and studies are meant to be used by the local church they need to be written and presented in a way that can be employed and assimilated.

The member churches of the Anglican communion which responded to the study guide commended the following: 1. The ground-breaking and far-reaching work done by the WCC’s Commission on

Faith and Order, producing such results as Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Confessing One Faith and Church and World.

2. The leadership role played by the WCC in holding up justice, peace and the integrity of creation as a major responsibility of the Christian church. However, it was noted that “there have been good programmes initiated which have been designed to help people help themselves which have had destructive ecological consequences”. We need to ask what the connections are between economic justice and ecological preservation.

3. The rigorous pursuit of dialogue with the world’s living religions working towards a global religious understanding and a world religious ethic. The WCC might further build on the relationship with the Vatican in addressing these issues.

4. The response to grave human need through interchurch aid, refugee work and development.

5 . The work in the field of international affairs which keeps the member churches informed about such situations as the Sudan and the former Yugoslavia.

6 . WCC participation in the United Nations Organization, the World Health Organi- zation and the Food and Agriculture Organization. It was hoped that more constructive dialogues could be developed with the World Bank and the Inter- national Monetary Fund.

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C. Review of studies

programmes and publications. A number of the churches have commented on the quantity and quality of the

We are not at all sure for whom the [Vision] booklet is meant. It assumes fair knowledge of the WCC in general and possible participation in events and programmes organized by the different units.. . the language is high and rather specialized and could be difficult for many who do not use English (and presumably the other WCC languages) as their first language. (Bangladesh)

Faith and Order is ... seen as a very ponderous and wordy institution which produces countless studies through large and unwieldy meetings. If it were to produce more accessible study guides which local parishes and ecumenical study groups could use, it would be greatly appreciated. (Canada)

We feel that the WCC must give urgent attention to the quantity and quality of its reports and literature. (Wales)

Fewer and more focused studies would help to sharpen the impact of the WCC and be another way of responding to the present financial pressures. The following comments may be a way forward: 1. A wider spectrum of opinion needs to be reflected in work done on the social,

economic and political analysis that lies behind the work of the WCC. 2. It appears that fewer specialists of international reputation are involved in pro-

grammes with a corresponding loss of credibility in some of the Council’s work. There is a need for innovative as well as educative work to be done by the WCC, but this work needs to be done by the appropriate people.

3. A number of the responses to the study guide reflected the suspicion that WCC staff set the agenda and the stage, direct the actors and even write the reports before the work is done by the representatives of the churches.

4. There is a great value in the WCC method of building consensus through convergence documents but BEM, for example, summarized the convergence achieved while also pointing to areas of outstanding difference. It is not always necessary, however, to have convergence texts, and authors might be chosen who can write clearly and directly to the benefit of a wider audience.

5. Fewer publications would mean more time could be spent on writing, editing and providing more translations within a limited budget.

D. Diversity and dissent

The structure and style of the: WCC does not always provide for all churches to make their positions clear. The politically correct stance on any issue can give little room for dissent. If ecumenical fellowship means anything, it must find a way of becoming a community in dialogue with room for dissent in the search for a common mind. Reports and statements can reveal that churches are not of one mind without loss of credibility. The viewpoints made will have their own integrity and the witness to diversity of opinion held within the unity of a fellowship of churches is just as important as “being of one mind” on some matters. (England)

Some responses asked whether the divisions and tensions which are experienced in the life of the WCC and provide an obstacle to unity are related to the hidden cultural, political and religious experiences. In fact it is the presence of these divisions that necessitates the

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existence of the Council. The more the Council can be transparent and bold in identifying the real sources of tension, the greater its ability to address, analyze and resolve them. (Canada)

E. The honest broker There are a number of subjects which many of the churches appear to find difficult

to handle as, for example, human sexuality, interfaith dialogue and the roles of women and men in ministry. The WCC could have an important role as an honest broker and servant of the churches in enabling such matters to be raised, studied and debated.

In further developing the role as honest broker the WCC should enable those involved in work on human rights, refugees, peace and justice, poverty and conflict resolution to meet. Such meetings would enable dialogue to take place which would not be possible through the normal political channels.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

A. Continuing Anglican commitment It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine the foreseeable future without the

World Council of Churches. It should be clear in this report, and in the critique and suggestions offered in their responses to the WCC study of its understanding and vision, that the churches of the Anglican communion continue to reaffirm their commitment to the WCC as a privileged ecumenical instrument. This continues a long-standing and consistent affirmation. Meetings of the communion, provincial and international, on many occasions, and particularly the bishops of the communion at the Lambeth conferences of 1968, 1978 and 1988 have declared that commitment.

B. The goal of unity With widespread support there is also widespread concern that both member

churches and the WCC continue to reflect on, and rearticulate, the goal of unity, and maintain a creative flexibility and openness in expressing that goal in the light of current and changing realities.

C. The WCC as pre-conciliar The Anglican communion has traditionally understood the WCC to be a “pre-

conciliar” organization, and more than once has expressed the conviction that its major role is to lead the Christian community towards a universal council of the church. For example, the 1968 Lambeth conference endorsed the hope expressed at the Uppsala assembly “for a time when a genuinely universal council may once more speak for all Christians.. . Our interim confessional and ecumenical organizations should be tested by their capacity to lead in this direction’l.6

While a true universal council is not a realistic expectation for the near future, Anglican responses continue to affirm that direction, and hope that the WCC will bend its efforts to help churches to try to live in a conciliar way at all levels of Christian life. A number of ways in which the WCC can enable this direction have already been articulated as, for example, the regionalization of ecumenical work, the

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encouragement of subsidiarity and a WCC transparency of purpose and style to this end. The most obvious way of moving to a truly universal council is to work for visible unity. For a truly universal council entails unity of faith, sacraments and ministry.

D. Ecclesiological concerns

emphasize. There is also a supporting variety of ecclesiological concerns which Anglicans

1. Anglican responses have been emphatically clear that the WCC must be a council of churches, and not a movement of movements.

2 . Anglican responses understand koinonia as a theological concept rather than a structural model, the fundamental and underlying reality of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Koinonia is both gift and calling. It is a gift of the love and life of the triune God given to us at baptism. Anglican experience of koinonia in the midst of our own diversity and tension is important for our own understanding of the relationship of life and witness we are called to share with all Christian people. The Canadian report notes that koinonia is the cement of all our ecumenical interaction, and might possibly serve as a bridge between theology and structure.

3. The Church of England report asks if the question about models of unity is a useful one. It would rather focus attention on those characteristics that hold churches together in visible unity: faith, sacraments, shared ministry, mission, shared structures, etc. Though the appropriateness of the model of unity language was not raised in other reports, the tendency was echoed; there is an increasing interest in exploring the possibilities of visible unity which embrace variety and emphasize mutual interdependence and communion within the concept of koinonia, rather than a single visible structure.

4. The Anglican communion, particularly through the Lambeth conference, has consistently expressed the hope that the Roman Catholic Church might become a member of the WCC.

E. Increasing the membership of the WCC The 1978 Lambeth conference called the churches of the Anglican communion “to

review their commitment to ecumenical structures as well as bilateral conversations at various levels with a view to strengthening the common advance by all churches to the goal of visible unity”.

If the WCC is truly to become an instrument of unity which embraces and brings into dialogue the broadest possible range of Christian people, we must be prepared to review its structures and ways of working to allow for the inclusion of the Roman Catholic Church and other churches which are not now members.

The process might begin by asking churches which are not members to share their perceptions of the WCC. Another response suggested, however, is that in order to include the Roman Catholic Church and other communions we must find a way to reconstitute the assembly and central committee to allow for the inclusion of world communion representatives as well as regional member churches (see representation of world communions, p.397).

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IV. FINAL COMMENT

We have appreciated the invitation and opportunity to study and reflect on the common understanding and vision of the World Council of Churches. There are points in the reports sent by Anglican churches to the WCC to which we have not referred in this communion report. However, there are other points in the separate reports which supported each other and encouraged us to move beyond the reports to draw some new inferences from them. But this is not the end of the process. As Anglican brothers and sisters, members of the WCC, we look forward to further conversation about the shape and style of our ecumenical instruments and expect to be involved with you in the decision-making about the changes that will be necessary for all of us to grow together in the ecumenical task.

NOTES

' Resolution 44, Lambeth conference 1968. 'Resolution 28, Lambeth conference 1978.

Resolution 29, Lambeth conference 1978. Resolution 14, Lambeth conference 1988. See, for example, resolution 14 of the 1988 Lambeth conference, quoted above.

6Resolution 44, 1968; cf. resolutions 28 and 29, 1978; resolution 14, 1988.

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an anglican vision for the world council of churches

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