November 12, 1999

By David A. Leslie

CLEVELAND—Although "reconciliation" is not explicit in the NCC 50th anniversary theme, "Unity in Christ: Gift and Calling," it is clearly the tie that binds together a myriad of this week’s activities.

On Sunday, Nov. 7, the Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, NCC General Secretary, set the tone in a sermon preached at the Old Stone Church, saying, "Reconciliation is the glue of the good society and it is the ecumenical task."

Many of the anniversary forums Nov. 9-12 picked up this theme. "Living Faithfully in America: A Multifaith Conversation," "Jubilee 2000," "Justice for Women: Beyond the Ecumenical Decade," "Challenging Racism," and "Inclusiveness and Justice" were just a few of places where attendees shared insights about the challenges and opportunities related to being engaged in the task of reconciliation.

The theme of reconciliation was further enhanced through the name of the NCC anniversary newspaper, Jubilee People.

But it was at the Old Stone Church on Nov. 10 when the reconciliation theme was most dramatically apparent. A "Service of Recognition and Remembrance" was held to commemorate the massacre of refugees and non-combatant civilians by the U.S. military at No Gun Ri, Korea, in July 1950.

Gathered together in worship, Korean survivors and U.S. Army veterans and their families and friends together remembered the past and publicly made their commitment to a reconciled future. For many in attendance, the service demonstrated how the ecumenical community can be a force for change by addressing injustice and bringing together those who are separated by pain, fear, national agendas and war.

But not all differences and divisions have been reconciled during the 50th anniversary celebrations or by the NCC General Assembly, the Council’s top legislative body, at its 1999 annual meeting here. Differences still remain as to the organizational form and program content of the NCC beyond this Assembly. Discussions and negotiations about the future relationship between the NCC and Church World Service and Witness demonstrate that there is still an ongoing need to address old rifts and to find constructive ways to reconcile operational differences and discover equitable ways of working together.

The Interfaith Assembly of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucuses and Affirming Organizations, in a pamphlet distributed to Assembly participants, called on the NCC to "welcome into membership any communion which confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, including those communions whose members are primarily LGBT persons." This is not currently the situation at the NCC today.

Furthermore, as several regional, state and local ecumenical leaders observed, there remain questions as to the level of the NCC’s commitment to support local and regional ecumenism throughout this country.

Queried one such leader, "What will happen to Ecumenical Networks, and collaborative programs such as the climate change initiative sponsored by the NCC in partnership with state councils throughout the country? Will the nurturing of denominational relationships preclude the active support of local and regional ecumenical organizations?"

Reflecting on the Jubilee 2000 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, the Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele, Lutheran pastor in South Africa, said reconciliation, like jubilee, is ultimately about the restoration of balance in relationships.

"Through the process of reconciliation in South Africa, we are envisioning new structures, new systems, and new relationships so that the future may indeed be much different than the past. The jubilee tradition—a theology of reconciliation—is an intrusion of a different set of rules in a game where the winners and losers are always predetermined. Jubilee, complete with its important distinctive mark, reconciliation, challenges the past and leads to the important reordering of life resulting in new life possibilities."

Throughout the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Council of Churches, reconciliation has intruded on the day to day activity. And as one participant noted, "If taken seriously, this intrusion will indeed be good for the NCC, support the ecumenical movement in this country and give new energy and cause to our work together as ecumenical colleagues."