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“What was clear in listening to our Presbyterian brothers and sisters around the world is that if present trends continue, there’s not much future for the world.”
WARC is the Geneva-based family of Presbyterian, Reformed and congregational churches representing more than 75 million Christians in more than 200 denominations.
Kirkpatrick said his election as president of the Alliance — which was sharply critical of U.S. government economic and trade policies — represents “appreciation for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for our standing with and for the poor over many years. There was also appreciation for our commitment to world mission and justice.”
Kirkpatrick said the mood of the Council was not anti-U.S., but “anger and resentment directed against the ‘North’ for impoverishing the ‘South.’ There was no anti-American ‘groundswell,’ but a firm conviction that policies must change.”
The WARC General Council’s “message” condemned communism, but also, Kirkpatrick said, “cautioned against a capitalism that is not moderated by concern for the economic, social and political welfare of all people.”
Kirkpatrick spoke movingly about visiting the “slave castles” in Accra, which was a hub of the North American slave trade. “To visit the slave dungeons, where slaves were held while awaiting shipment across the Atlantic, and to see that the Reformed church sat atop them was heartbreaking,” he said. “To know that the church didn’t stand up for those oppressed then created a sense of urgency for us now.”
Although it faces many challenges, Kirkpatrick said WARC “is probably the healthiest organization in the ecumenical movement.” A vast majority of the Presbyterian and Reformed churches in the world are WARC members, a particularly healthy sign given that “splintering is characteristic of Reformed churches throughout history.”
One issue threatening the PC(USA) but not WARC unity is homosexuality. It was discussed in Accra, but Kirkpatrick said only one action was taken — to affirm the human rights of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.
“Of course we acknowledged that churches are in very different places. But we took no action on ordination or ministry,” Kirkpatrick said. “And we made two commitments: that we would be open to hear each other, and that this is not our most important priority and will not be a church-dividing issue.”
Like all ecumenical organizations, WARC struggles financially. It has historically been dependent upon European churches for the bulk of its funding, and changing tax laws for churches in Germany “have major implications for WARC,” Kirkpatrick said. “I’m particularly struck,” he added, “by the growth of African churches’ contributions.”
Kirkpatrick said he experienced in Accra “a growing recognition that if we’re going to accomplish anything, we need to renew our churches.” He pointed to the growing number of partnerships between PC(USA) presbyteries and congregations and overseas partners, which he said have “proven effectiveness as sources of spiritual renewal.” He said he would like to build such partnership programs into WARC.
The value of such cross-cultural sharing became clear to Kirkpatrick through the daily Bible study groups that were part of the Council. “My group was filled with people from the poorest places on earth — Bangladesh, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines — and we studied the Book of Ruth. We looked at the story as ‘getting along’ in another system, but for them this was their system. The Bible really comes alive as we learn about these other situations. Their perspective is so biblical, and so uncomfortable for us, and so moving for all of us.
“If everyone could be in Bible study with folk from these places, we’d see a global transformation.”
Presbyterians can’t do everything, Kirkpatrick conceded, “but we can find ways to live more simply, to exercise better stewardship, to resist consumerism and to work together to change the world. Me? I’ve been thinking about trading in my 10-year-old Honda. Now I’m going to drive that thing until it flat dies.”
Many Presbyterians and their churches participate in hunger walks and Habitat for Humanity house-building, purchase “equal exchange” and other fair-trade products, and work for justice in many ways, Kirkpatrick said. “Keep doing it.”
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