First Friday Letter The World Methodist Council
September 2022
Greetings from the General Secretary Dear Friends, We have just completed a very inspiring and productive Steering Committee Meeting in Stuttgart hosted by Bishop Rosemarie Wenner of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Germany. Many members of the Steering Committee then traveled to Karlsruhe, Germany, to participate in the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) under a timely and appropriate theme, “Christ’s loves moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” Reconciliation and Unity was very much the theme of our Steering Committee Meeting. In his opening address, President Dr. JC Park noted, “Since February 24, 2002, we have entered the era of a new Cold War in the midst of the unprecedented double jeopardy of the pandemic and climate change.” He further observed, “We are facing an unholy alliance of Christianity and political power in the context of nationalism, populism, and new forms of totalitarianism…” At the Steering Committee, we lamented that we were into the sixth month of the war in Ukraine but noted that the United Nations listed 51 places in the world where violence and war continue to rage. Despite the Korean armistice agreement signed 69 years ago, we acknowledged that the parties on the Korean Peninsula remain technically at war and, therefore, we endorsed the Korea Peace Appeal to collect 100 million signatures “calling for an end to the Korean War and a transition from armistice to peace” before the 70th Anniversary on July 27, 2023. The Rev. WP Ebenezer Joseph of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka was named as the 2023 Methodist Peace Award recipient. Read more about him in this edition. Highlights of the Steering Committee and the WCC will also feature in the upcoming editions of the First Friday Letter. Addressing the WCC Assembly, Moderator Dr. Agnes Abuom, reflecting on the churches’ mission, witness and unity, said, “Jesus’ compassion for stigmatized minorities, for those for whom little compassion is visible today, will challenge us and our churches to metanonia, to conversion, to the renewal of our minds and hearts so that we may become in tomorrow’s world a countercultural force driven by solidarity with the most vulnerable towards the survival of God’s creation, for which so many young people are anxiously struggling today in Germany and in many parts of the world.” In his report, the WCC Acting General Secretary identified three issues facing the world today, namely, Climate Justice and Racial Justice as well as the issue of Human Sexuality. He argued that while churches are deeply divided on the issue of human, “What we all can agree, however, is the need to respect the dignity of every human being, to defend and affirm human rights for all, to condemn any violence or verbal or physical aggression, and to affirm that every human being is created in God’s image.” The next WCC assembly in 2030 will coincide with the time left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The WCC renewed its pledge to work with governments and civil society to see that these goals are achieved. On September 1, 250 Methodist delegates to the WCC met at a Confessional meeting. Here the words of Wesley, “the world is my parish” took on new meaning as we heard the hopes, dreams and aspiration of Methodists from across the globe. Bishop Christian Alsted also took the opportunity to invite delegates to the WMC Conference22 in Gothenburg, Sweden. These are exciting times for the World Methodist Council and Global Methodism. I trust that our best days are ahead of us. Strong leadership and new energy combined with the guiding hand of God will provide us with a bright future. Grace and Peace Ivan Abrahams World Methodist Council
First Friday Letter page 1