c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) In an era of global turmoil over religion, the fact that a relatively diverse body of Christians from around the world could meet and leave 10 days later without much acrimony was enough for some to call the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches a success.

“The simple reality that 300 churches from 100 countries gathered for worship and prayer is a witness that the gospel can transform divisions: cultural, political, as well as confessional,” said the Rev. John Thomas, the general minister and president of the United Church of Christ (UCC), in an interview.

He made the comment after the assembly completed its work Thursday (Feb. 23) in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Journalists looking for conflict may have left disappointed. There were no walkouts or major divisions among those in attendance, though a blistering letter from the U.S. conference apologizing for an Iraq war raining down “terror” did cause a stir back in the United States.

Worldwide, the assembly _ the first ever held in Latin America _ may be remembered as a transitional moment in Christian relations. It was a time when the ecumenical movement of predominantly Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches recognized it had to form a new kind of relationship with the Pentecostal movement, the fastest-growing segment of Christianity.

Pentecostals, a movement strongly influenced by the biblical account of the Day of Pentecost, place particular emphasis on what they say are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Pentecostal movement has a large number of small, independent congregations _ the churches are particularly popular in poor areas of Africa and Latin America. As a result, they have not felt the need to engage with established church structures such as the WCC.

Because of that “grass-roots” tradition, it may be some time before large groups of Pentecostals begin a dialogue with the WCC and its member churches.

Even so, the fact that the WCC seems ready to engage with the Pentecostal movement shows that some are heeding the criticism and worries about institutional ecumenism voiced by some of its own leaders. One warned during the assembly of a moribund ecumenical movement in danger of ossifying.

Sheer numbers may impel the WCC to recognize the Pentecostal movement.

Pentecostalism is growing internationally by up to 20 million adherents a year, according to Christianity Today. Conservative estimates place the number of Pentecostals globally in 2000 at about 115 million; some say the current figure may be 400 million. There are an estimated 11,000 Pentecostal denominations internationally.

By contrast, the 348 denominations that belong to the WCC have more than 560 million members, though many of those churches _ such as U.S. mainline Protestant denominations _ are losing membership.

The Geneva-based WCC, created following World War II with the principal aim of formally unifying the global Christian community, is the world’s largest ecumenical grouping. But there are huge gaps in its roster: Leading evangelical and Pentecostal bodies, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, are not WCC members.

Church relationships _ both formal and informal _ are paramount for WCC members, and such relationships are not built quickly and easily. Thomas acknowledged that while the assembly did not take concrete steps that might result in Pentecostal churches becoming WCC members, it took a needed step in “reflecting on the nature of the ecumenical movement _ we need to look at the churches beyond the institution of ecumenism.”

Thomas echoed a stated desire by WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist keenly aware of the strength of the Pentecostal movement in Africa.

Kobia repeated that call during the assembly and it was received warmly by Pentecostals. Michael Ntumy, who heads The Church of Pentecost in Ghana, said he would encourage formal talks between the WCC and Pentecostals.

Another sign of change within the WCC is the prospect of a leaner organization.

Acknowledging that the council’s income dropped by nearly a third since its last global meeting in 1999, a finance committee said in a report that the WCC should “do less, and do it well.” The council’s central committee will not decide on specific program cuts until later this year. The WCC could follow the lead of the National Council of Churches (USA) which, after years of budget problems, has focused on a few core themes, such as the fight against poverty, rather than trying to be an all-encompassing organization.

However, the WCC is unlikely to temper what its supporters and members see as a much-needed prophetic voice. Conservative critics say that voice makes WCC less a body of church unity than a platform for liberal political causes.

The assembly’s Brazilian locale provided a new perspective on those criticisms. In an opening speech to the assembly, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former labor leader, noted the important role religious institutions played during his country’s long transition to democracy. Da Silva noted the WCC’s activism during 20 years of military rule that began in the 1960s.

“When we were fighting for democracy, we found in the World Council of Churches not only moral and spiritual support but active solidarity,” he said. “Those were years of hard struggle in defense of freedom and human dignity.”

In the United States, the assembly is likely to be remembered as the forum where a group of American church leaders denounced a number of U.S. foreign and domestic policies and issued a lament for not having done more to prevent the war in Iraq.

The statement said the U.S. reaction to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, was “to reclaim a privileged and secure place in the world, raining down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global neighbors.”

It said “nations have been demonized and God has been enlisted in national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous.”

Thomas of the UCC acknowledged that the declaration _ roundly criticized by some U.S. conservatives _ was “one of the most sharply worded statements (of its kind) that has come from an ecumenical gathering.”

He said it represented “a sense of growing urgency” about the war in Iraq and the perception of the U.S. internationally.

Why issue it at a WCC assembly?

Thomas said he and other U.S. church leaders, in their international travels, have heard growing unhappiness about the war in Iraq and the United States’ role in the world. He said U.S. church leaders felt they had to speak up when faced with questions and criticism from their peers.

“Part of the World Council’s role,” he said, “is a role of accountability.”

MO/PH END RNS