‘There’s a lot of hurt there, but there’s also rays of hope’

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches met in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month to consider an extensive range of issues concerning the world today, including Christian nationalism, socio-political conflicts around the globe, and environment justice.

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Participants in the gathering included the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency; Dr. Dianna Wright, associate stated clerk and director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations; and the Rev. Dr. Neal Presa,  Moderator of the 220^th General Assembly and the executive presbyter of the Presbytery of San Jose.

One of the most significant outcomes of last month’s meeting was the adoption of a report from a working group on Israel and Palestine, which named the policies and practices of the Israeli government toward Palestine as “a system of apartheid.” This report will inform the WCC’s policies regarding Israel and Palestine going forward.

The committee also released a public issues statement reflecting its newly adopted position. In addition to naming apartheid, the statement declared support for Palestinians both Christian and otherwise, and called for “states, churches, and international institutions to impose consequences for violations of international law, including targeted sanctions, divestment and arms embargoes” and support the work of International Criminal Court and the United Nations.

The Central Committee made a point, in its statement, of distinguishing between the Jewish people and the government of Israel and reaffirmed its objection to antisemitism. However, it argued that “the unbearable suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza, and the escalating violence and oppression in the West Bank and in Jerusalem” compel them to speak clearly and urgently in line with “principles of justice under international law and ethics.”

Presa said the decision to adopt the position stated in the working group’s report was the result of a years-long discernment process, which was influenced and initiated in part by a similar decision made by the 225^th General Assembly of the PC(USA). In 2022, the General Assembly voted to declare that the PC(USA) recognizes that “the laws, policies and practices of the government of Israel regarding the Palestinian people fulfill the international legal definition of apartheid.”

PC(USA) delegates to the 11^th Assembly of the WCC in Germany in 2022 worked alongside UCC delegates and others to bring an action to the floor calling for the WCC to take the same position. That action didn’t pass that assembly but was forwarded to the Central Committee for further deliberation, which in turn forwarded the issue to its Executive Committee and the General Secretary in 2023.

The General Secretary established the Israel and Palestine Working Group to continue pursuing the topic. Presa was originally appointed to that group, but Wright took his place when he was unable to meet with them in Athens, Greece, in late 2024. Their report regarding Israel and Palestine was ultimately adopted by the Central Committee last month on behalf of the WCC.

Founded in 1948, the World Council of Churches is a global, Christian, inter-church organization committed to the work of ecumenism. It currently has 356 member churches and represents roughly 660 million Christians worldwide. It gathers as a full assembly every eight years. In between these gatherings, the Central Committee functions as its chief governing body.

The Central Committee has 150 members who are elected by the assembly of the WCC from among its delegates. They meet every two years, along with the WCC regional presidents and 100 advisors from the wider ecumenical movement, to “implement the assembly mandate, make policy decisions, and address issues affecting the life and witness of the churches.” The Central Committee is, in turn, led by a 25-person Executive Committee elected from Central Committee membership, which meets twice annually to supervise ongoing work and oversee the budget.

Presa serves on both the Central Committee and its Executive Committee. He was also chosen as moderator of the Finance Policy Committee and will serve in that role until the next full WCC assembly in 2030.

Oh and Wright participated in the Central Committee gathering as advisors. Additionally, Presa made a point of mentioning that Doug Chial, who serves as the director of the Office of the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, is a proud member and ruling elder in the PC(USA).

Much like the General Assembly of the PC(USA), the Central Committee breaks into smaller assigned committees that focus on particular areas, such as programming, governance and public issues. It then brings recommendations back to the whole. However, unlike the Presbyterian voting process, the Central Committee uses a consensus model to make decisions, deliberating until members reach agreement.

The Israel and Palestine Working Group looked extensively at the rulings and perspectives of various international human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and drafted a report that identified three essential tasks.

The first task was to answer the immediate question of whether the actions of the Israeli government constituted apartheid. The second was to reframe, inform, and shape what would be a broader and more comprehensive policy in regard to Israel and Palestine. Finally, the third task was to identify what the WCC’s urgings and recommendations should be to member churches.

The working group reported to the Executive Committee and then the Central Committee, which agreed that the definition of apartheid was met. It also ruled that it was important for the WCC to take policy positions that affirmed the self-determination of the Palestinian people and emphasized the need for an immediate ceasefire and access to humanitarian aid. Finally, the committee called upon member churches of the WCC to address and decry ideologies and theologies that are complicit with Christian Zionism, apartheid practices, xenophobia and the fomenting of Islamophobia.

In addition to its position on Israel, Wright noted that the body took up the topic of Christian nationalism, particularly at the behest of member churches from the United States, citing the Trump administration’s use of Christianity to defend and promote rhetoric and policies that target immigrants and other vulnerable populations. Delegates from North America also brought the topic to the Central Committee in 2022.

Presa shared that he was invited to preach at Boksburg Uniting Presbyterian Church while in South Africa only a day or two after President Trump authorized the bombing of nuclear facilities in Iran and after the recent No Kings protest across the U.S. Presa noted that the South African congregation “shared our grief” over Trump’s actions and recognized them as “another manifestation of empire insisting on its way.”

Another significant focus of the Central Committee’s time was environmental justice and sustainability. In 2022 the WCC formed a standing commission on climate justice and sustainability, an unprecedented move. This year, the committee declared an “ecumenical decade for climate justice and action” as an even greater commitment to focus attention on the crucial topic, as many of the WCC’s member churches — including the PC(USA) — already have.

Wright said it is important for U.S. Presbyterians to understand that the very issues the PC(USA) is concerned with are also being taken up by churches around the world. Indeed, PC(USA) actions toward addressing the moral and ethical issues of our day sometimes directly influence the WCC and its other member churches globally. In turn, the work of that assembly provides resources that inform, encourage and enhance PC(USA) efforts.

Presa agreed, noting that he returned from South Africa — where care and justice for immigrants had been a central topic — to join the Moderator of the 218^th General Assembly (2008), the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, in visiting an ICE detention center in San Jose to express solidarity and accompaniment.

Presa urged Presbyterians to be encouraged by the knowledge that they are joined in their efforts by so many others around the world, and to keep working for “a world that exhibits the love and justice of God.”

“We are in solidarity with siblings in the faith everywhere and the household of faith — not just the Christian household, but everywhere in our common humanity,” Presa said. “There’s a lot of hurt there, but there’s also rays of hope. So let’s not despair, but let’s persevere in our witness for God’s justice.”