I anledning Rådsmøtet som ble avholdt på Lillestrøm 15 og 16 september mottok Norges Kristne Råd hilsener fra generalsekretærene i Kirkenes Verdensråd (KV – Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca) og Konferansen av Europeiske kirker (CEC – Dr. Jørgen Skov Sørensen).
Hilsen fra Konferansen av Europeiske kirker til Rådsmøtet i Norges Kristne Råd
Her kan se hilsenen fra Skov Sørensen.
Hilsen fra Kirkenes Verdensråd til Rådsmøtet i Norges Kristne Råd
Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca
Acting General Secretary
15 September 2021
Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.—Rom 5:5
Dear friends in Christ,
I am honoured to be able to greet you today on behalf of the full fellowship in the World Council of Churches and to invoke, with you, the Lord’s blessings on your meeting and on your important work.
Rarely have such blessings been more needed. Propitious in its timing, your meeting takes place as we continue to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, its closely related social and economic problems, and its heavy implications for the human future.
I will not belabour those mountainous challenges here, except to say that their gravity and scale also test the sturdiness of our faith, the character of our hope, and the depth of our love for God and each other.
Coming together this week, and representing the full and glorious diversity of committed Christian faith in Norway, your very meeting is a sign of the potential for ecumenical Christians to unite in commitment to healing humanity, leading the way for all of us to renew, reform, and redeem the times.
Indeed, I firmly believe that the world cries out for the redemptive love that is at the heart of Christian faith. To model a society of reconciling love. To spark new thinking and bold ideas based on concrete hopes. To counter division, ideological distortion, and violations of human rights with unwavering commitment to human life, health, and dignity.
That vision underlies the choice of our theme for next year’s WCC assembly: “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” As faithful and dedicated partners in the ecumenical enterprise, your participation in the assembly can help make it a pivotal one for Christian renewal and presence in the world.
So, based on your discernment of the times, I ask you to consider: what are the next steps toward real Christian unity? How best do we nurture authentic Christian discipleship for the sake of the world? What are the mechanisms and methods we should employ to encourage reconciliation in the world? The assembly needs your contribution to shape the ecumenical future we all hope to build.
In conclusion, therefore, against the weight of these leaden times, I urge you and your meeting this week to prayerful hope, based on your experience of God’s love flooding our hearts: Now is the time to entune ourselves, personally and together, to that enduring reality, made visible in the self-giving love of Jesus the Christ. May this era of shared vulnerability heighten our perceptions of solidarity and fill our hearts with a welcoming and healing compassion. May our pained knowledge of the fragility of nature render every sunset precious. May the cloud of sadness and grief that hang over our losses sharpen our longing for life and the morning joy of God’s love. And may the massive needs of our world accent our sense of shared destiny, hone our understanding of the workings of God in the world, and colour our every social interaction with ultimate import and redemptive possibility.
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