WARC, Disciples of Christ Talk Unity

A meeting of World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council (DECC) leaders should pave the way for a closer relationship between the two organizations.

WARC and DECC leaders met July 26 and 27 July at the Disciples of Christ Historical Society in Nashville, Tennessee, to continue their conversations on “the development of a comprehensive partnership in pursuit of the visible unity of the church.”

DECC is a council of 19 Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, United and Uniting churches established in 1979 to strengthen their common calling to visible unity and mission. Though not a legislative body, it works to enable its member churches to consult with each other about issues of faith, witness and unity. DECC represents 4.5 million Christians around the world.

The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a member of WARC, which is an overall body of Reformed, Congregational, Presbyterian, Waldensian, United and Uniting churches who have since the late 19th century engaged in common witness to Christ and in strengthening their common calling for the unity of the church. It is currently in the process of uniting with the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).

WARC and DECC have been in dialogue since the mid-1980s. For more information about the meeting, visit http://warc.jalb.de/.

The Nashville meeting focused on the relationship between the two groups in light of the plans for WARC to merge in 2010 with REC, forming the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). That meeting is set to occur from June 18-28 in 2010 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids.