Towards Porto Alegre: the promise of grace

Ecumenical Review, The, July, 2004 by Norman Shanks

The core group of the assembly planning committee gathered for the first meeting at the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey, for four clays in February 2003, to lay the groundwork for the WCC's ninth assembly, to be held at Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February 2006. Our primary task at that meeting was to reach agreement on what recommendation we would make to the central committee, due to meet in Geneva in August-September 2003, as to the assembly theme. The venue had already been determined by the central committee at its previous meeting, and the dates and size of the assembly had been decided by the executive committee. We had few illusions as to the complexity or significance of what we had to do, and we were deeply grateful to the staff group for preliminary work they had clone in providing background material for our discussions.

We recognized that it was not nearly enough to come up with some catchy, clever slogan that might be effective for publicity purposes. The assembly theme also had to serve a deeper purpose in conveying a message both to the church and to the world. It had to be, as it were, "a word for our times", somehow reflecting both the spirit and ethos of the churches' life--the range of their experiences and challenges in today's world--and capturing, and expressing appropriately, the essence of the gospel. The theme would also inevitably shape and influence the content of the assembly programme--the worship, the Bible studies and group work, some of the plenary meetings--and even possibly the structure and process, how the different elements related to and flowed into one another.

Early on in our meeting at Bossey the theme of "grace" emerged. We were informed that the Latin American Theological Commission, a broadly based consortium of organizations including--along with several others--the Latin American Council of Churches and the WCC, had recently initiated a process of theological reflection "on the central theme of the grace of God, which is of increasing concern to the churches". It was suggested that some such focus might provide promising possibilities for our own deliberations.

First of all, of course, we had to get to know one another and begin to function as a group of central committee members and WCC staff, many of whom had not worked closely together before. We looked at the significance of the themes of previous assemblies, we discussed the kinds of considerations, concerns and criteria that had to be taken into account in determining the theme, and we spoke about the possible style and shape of the assembly. But for much of the time, both in smaller groupings and in the core group as a whole, we tossed around and grappled with ideas about the theme. It was an arduous and very creative. process, and in our time together--our worship, our discussions, our growth as a group--we were blessed by a sense of God's grace working among us.

Not all of us were persuaded, however, either initially or perhaps even by the end of the process, that "grace" was the "right" focus for the assembly theme. Some felt that the different understandings of grace would be divisive; others saw this as an opportunity for bridge-building and helpful dialogue. Some considered the concept too difficult and abstract; others thought it would offer a basis for constructive sharing of insights and experience. Eventually, we were able to reach a kind of consensus, on this and other matters, on which we reported to the central committee in August 2003.

We identified a number of criteria which we felt the theme must satisfy. For example, we said that it must be relevant--globally and locally--to the present situation in both church and world, and to contemporary concerns and issues, particularly in Latin America where the assembly will take place. It should be challenging, and prophetic, hopeful, future-oriented and energizing towards action. It must have both biblical and theological significance and resonance, yet also be understandable outside the church. It must be readily intelligible, communicable and translatable into the WCC's "working languages". It must be capable of being linked with and expressed through prayer, worship and Bible study. It must be inclusive--not divisive between North and South, East and West, nor among the various church traditions. It must reflect an understanding of the nature and purpose of God, the challenge to human response and responsibility, and a fundamental respect for human dignity. And it must express an ecumenical vision that is broad and open, and relate to WCC priorities, programmes and projects. This constituted an impressive, perhaps admirably comprehensive catalogue of aspirations which, with hindsight, seems unrealistic and over-ambitious, even pretentious; and it is interesting now to reflect on the extent to which "God, in Your Grace, Transform the World" fulfils these aspirations.

Out of the Bossey process the core group produced three suggestions on which views were sought from central committee members and the churches in Brazil: "Seeking God/God's Grace to Renew the World"; "God's Grace and Human Dignity"; and "God Calls Us to Justice, Peace and Love". Only a limited response was forthcoming, certain further possibilities were proposed, and doubts on the part of some core group members were confirmed as to how readily or satisfactorily "grace" could be translated into other languages.