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Religion

Assembly-goers find ecumenism

By Times Staff Writer
Published February 19, 2006

The World Council of Churches is holding its first assembly of the 21st century in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The meeting of up to 3,000 church leaders and ecumenical representatives from Christian denominations around the world began last week and will end Thursday.

The Rev. Bobby Musengwa, co-pastor with the Rev. Holly Wildhack of Maximo Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg, is representing the Presbyterian Church (USA) through Maximo Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery of Tampa Bay. Musengwa has been sending daily e-mails about his experience at the conference. Some snippets follow.

Greetings from Porto Alegre!

What a great feeling it was when we all finally made it into the airplane from Sao Paolo to Porto Alegre. Almost everyone in the plane was headed to the World Council of Churches' Assembly.

In the plane I sat between a theologian from Sri Lanka and the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Jerusalem. What interesting people!

I thought the two haggard-looking men from the Cameroon, one white, the other black, had the worst traveling story. They left their homes Saturday and arrived here with us on Monday afternoon. They had not slept for two days and two nights. However, the young delegate from Nigeria took the prize, so far. She had flown from her home in Nigeria through Johannesburg, South Africa.

She then crossed the ocean from South Africa to Sao Paolo, but since she had lost her record of medical shots, they arrested her at the airport and put her right back into the plane to South Africa to get her shots. She got her shots and had to buy another round-trip ticket to come right back over the ocean to Brazil. Hers was a story of determination and faith that she will indeed attend this assembly and represent her church.

This experience inspires me to listen more to the life experiences of people in our congregation, because every one of us has a story bearing witness to God's work in our lives.

Thanks be to God!

Feb 14, 2006, 7:42 p.m.

What a terrific day it was today! Never in my life have I seen so many theological heavyweights under one roof. There are more than 120 countries, cultures, languages, and theological backgrounds represented in this place.

Our meeting is taking place at the Pontifical University. We heard greetings from the pope, read by a cardinal from the Holy See. We also heard messages from Kofi Annan from the U.N. But the best "sermons" of the day came from unexpected sources: the governor of this state, and the deputy mayor of the city of Porto Alegre. They showed great versatility and familiarity with Scriptures as they welcomed us in the most Christian fashion possible.

The astounding thing this assembly will be remembered for would be its decision to use the consensus model for decisionmaking. Imagine taking people as varied as these, from so many countries and cultures, and then expecting them to come to a consensus on theological issues.

It is definitely a decision based on faith. It will be exciting to watch and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide delegates (to) discern God's will in this assembly. If the worship service this evening is any guide, we are in for a great spiritual treat.

Thanks be to God!

Feb. 15, 2006, 5:16 p.m.

God, in your grace, transform the world! This prayerful theme continues throughout the assembly meeting.

We have witnessed the proceedings of the WCC assembly go on without a hitch. The consensus model is surprisingly working, at least so far. The differences among the Christian groups are still profoundly deep.

We do not break bread together in the Lord's supper. Too much historical disagreement. We do not even call worship "worship," since the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics understand worship to include serving the Lord's supper. So, we call worship "prayer service."

We start the day with prayer at the prayer service, and we conclude the day with prayer at the prayer service. In between we have vigorous and stimulating Bible study, reflection, prayer, singing, assembly business meeting, workshop, plenary, and then conclude with prayer service.

Tonight our stated clerk of the PCUSA, Clifton Kirkpatrick, is taking us out to dinner.

Thanks be to God!

Feb. 16, 2006, 8 p.m.

Boa Tarde, Good Evening!

Today felt quite natural.

The pastors, preachers, bishops and other potentates have toned down on their imposing clerical robes. I now feel more at home among them. I have taken a lot of pictures, and everyone is so gracious to pose for me. Some people have even asked me to e-mail their pictures to them.

It is interesting to see bishops and patriarchs with headphones on, listening to interpretations of the speeches in many languages. English is on Channel 4, while Portuguese is on Channel 1. Spanish, German and French are also on the menu.

It is also interesting to see some bishops and patriarchs in ancient robes check their BlackBerries or talk on their cell phone.

Some even stand in line with us to check or send their e-mails in the public square. Welcome to Porto Alegre, where ancient rituals meet modern ones without qualms.

In this land of the samba, music continues to be a big part of assembly life. Indigenous music also features in the meetings, too. Drama, dance, and other artistic expressions enliven the proceedings in the meeting hall. Today the major focus was on economic justice. A fascinating German professor, Dr. Wolfgang Huber, together with other speakers, fired up the assembly as they posed before us a world with an alternative, ethically and morally acceptable economic order.

On the bus back to the hotel, my seatmate was Bishop Celso Queiros, the elderly bishop of Catanduva, Sao Paolo. He was gracious as I asked him many questions.

He told me that Brazil has about 40-million poor people, with a small but growing middle class. The wealthy are a tiny minority. He is concerned about the changing face of religion in Brazil. He said a significant number of people no longer identify with any religion.

"In Brazil, we have the homeless, the landless, the foodless, the waterless, and NOW we have the religionless," he said.

However, the ones who attend church are now more committed, and participate much more in the life of the church. He also mentioned the exponential growth of the Pentecostal churches.

Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church, which is still big, is now emphasizing evangelism and mission to stem the loss of members. Historical churches, such as the Presbyterians, do not seem to be big here.

Tomorrow, President Lula da Silva will be our guest speaker. High security measures will be in place. Also tomorrow, the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, of the Church of England will join our proceedings.

Thank God star-gazing is over. We will welcome them all like brothers in the Lord!

Well, I have to climb the stairs to my ninth-floor room. This is my way of burning up vast calories I devour every day through the delicious Brazilian food.

In this land of the foodless, the landless, the waterless, the homeless, and now the religionless, I pray for God's blessing upon the wonderful people of Brazil.

As we have all witnessed in the past year of record hurricanes, similar conditions of poverty exist everywhere, even in lands full of plenty, such as Brazil or the U.S.A.

[Last modified February 19, 2006, 01:08:19]