Draft Constitution Set for New Ecumenical Body

Rev. Peter Borgdorff, executive director emeritus of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, says the draft constitution of the newly created World Communion of Reformed Churches is nearly finished and will be sent out on June 10, 2009.

That is exactly one year before the document will be presented for approval by delegates of the two merging organizations—the Reformed Ecumenical Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches—at the Uniting General Council to be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in June 2010.

The CRC is helping to host the event on the campus of Calvin College.

Borgdorff is currently putting the final touches on the document that was voted on and approved recently and will be sent to representatives of Reformed, United, and Presbyterian churches around the world.

“The constitution defines the nature of what this ecumenical organization will be about,” says Borgdorff, who is also president of the Grand Rapids-based REC.

The executive committees of the REC and the WARC, meeting jointly for the first time last week in Geneva, Switzerland, agreed that the new organization will be a communion of groups and not a council or an alliance.

Use of the word “communion” implies that member denominations of the new organization will accept the ordination of each others’ clergy and respect the rites of each tradition. The draft constitution for the new organization says “no individual or church may claim precedence or dominance over another.”

The move signals a significant step towards unity among Reformed churches which have splintered into separate denominations over the years since the Protestant Reformation was launched in 16th century Europe.

“I’m feeling good about the spirit and harmony as we work through the issues,” says Borgdorff. “We are bringing together people whose faith is the same but whose outlooks can be different. Our hope is that together we can be more inclusive, speak with a more focused voice, and enjoy the benefits of belonging. It is intended to be a more intimate fellowship.”

Borgdorff, who led the process of drafting the constitution, declared it an important signal that Reformed churches are “seeking to overcome their divisions and come together as one body in the tradition of the biblical teachings which describe the Christian church as one body made of many parts.”

It is even possible, says Borgdorff, that the new organization could eventually help smooth the process of ongoing ecumenical dialogues between Reformed churches and the Catholic and Lutheran churches. “My hope is that the new organization could give some momentum to this,” he says.

Other decisions made by the joint executive committees on the final day of meetings in Geneva on May 30 included approval of a proposed new program and staff structure, elimination of the current budget deficit by 2011, and a draft budget for the new organization, subject to approval at the June 2010 general assembly.

“Our objective was to create a sustainable model for our combined organizations,” says WARC President Clifton Kirkpatrick. “To achieve this we had to make some difficult decisions such as reducing the size of the staff. But we are confident that we have a good basis now on which to build for the future.”

The joint executive committees also decided that the new organization would be established in Geneva where the WARC offices are currently located. The report on a proposal for relocation accepted by the governing bodies says the decision could be revisited three years after WCRC is created. For now, says the report, “It was deemed wisest to focus on planning for the WCRC and our world assembly.”

Meanwhile, says Borgdorff, letters have been sent out to various church bodies and officials in West Michigan, seeking support in helping to bring delegates from around the world to Grand Rapids for the gathering next year.

Some of the churches have responded and agreed to play a role in sponsoring delegates. This process, though, is just getting under way. For more information on WARC, visit: http://warc.jalb.de/. For more information on the Reformed Ecumenical Council, visit: http://www.recweb.org/index.php?section=1 .