NCC and CWS are ''Robustly Healthy,'' says Leaders
Four years after a financial crisis that nearly drove the NCC under and forced it to sever the CWS as a separate entity, leaders said the two groups are healthy, stable, and ready for new ecumenical developments
The future is looking bright for the National Council of Churches (NCC) and the Church World Service (CWS), the NCC president reported during the 'Weave Anew' annual meeting of the two ecumenical organizations, Nov. 10. While four years ago, a financial crises nearly sunk the NCC and forced it to financially sever its humanitarian arm CWS as a separate entity, the two organizations are “robustly healthy” and filled with visions for the future, leaders reported at the St. Louis, MO conference.
“Three years of balanced budgets and clean audits is a clear cause for celebration,” said NCC President-elect Michael Livingston, who also thanked the NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar “for bringing financial stability” to the group that had been several millions in debt in 2000.
With the newfound financial stability, Livingston said the NCC had adopted several policies to help stabilize its mission as well, such as: the development of a partnership document to define its working relationships with a variety of other organizations; a Memorandum of Understanding between the NCC and CWS; a “delegation protocol” to ensure that NCC delegations are representative of the 36-communion-member organization and that their activities are “consistent” with NCC policies; active participation in new ecumenical developments such as the fledgling Christian Churches Together (CCT).
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CCT, an organization that is due to launch by next May, is an ecumenical group in-the-making that would incorporate larger constituents of the Christian body than the NCC. The CCT would include the mainline Christian groups represented in the NCC as well as the Catholics, Pentecostals and evangelicals – groups that have not yet joined the Council.
Despite speculations that the CCT may act as a replacement for the NCC, Livingston insisted the two groups can work in harmony and greater unity.
“If there are new challenges to us,” Livingston said, “there will also be new opportunities for broader ecumenical unity and participation.”
Meanwhile, the CWS – a humanitarian organization that began as an extension of the NCC but now functions as a separate entity, reported bright prospects for the future.
CWS Board Chair Betty Voskuil said the group is now engaged in mission in 70 countries around the world with its international partners.
“Church World Service is Christians working together with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world,” explained Voskuil.
The main challenge for CWS, according to Voskuil, is to serve the immediate human needs of the world while holding onto the ministry’s vision.
“We’re known as the ‘Kits of the Heart’ people, as the CROP walk people, as the blanket people,” she said. Our task is to continually answer the biblical question ‘What does the Lord require of us?’ and be the people who bring hope,” said Voskuil.
