World Mission Arbiter - Division of World Mission and Evangelism - Consultation

Sep 29, 2026

Conference notes describing the Division of World Mission and Evangelism within the World Council of Churches, focusing on an ecumenical consultation held April 12-17, 1967. The text outlines the consultation’s purpose, participants’ work in three working parties, and major areas for international affairs studies: economic justice, structural changes in international relations, ethics of violence, and the technological revolution’s impact. It also records decisions on merging the World Mission newsletter with the Ecumenical Courier and reports key concerns about agency mission, peace-keeping, and peace promotion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Consultation THE CCIA

Working parties and major study concerns

Merger into the Ecumenical Courier

Research issues: justice, international structures, violence, technology

WORLDMISSIONarbiterDIVISION OF WORLD MISSION AND EVANGELISMOF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHESNew York,New York 10027 olume XIV,No.3 December,1967 # CONSU LTATIONTHE CCIA by Jon L.Regier The Commission of the Churches on International Affairs hasendered a unique ecumenical service.Its uniqueness has been ins charter,a semi-antonomous agency of the World Council ofhurches;in its moment in history,in a very delicate period ofhe creation of the United Nations and all that it represents;andhits competence and in its style of operation. However,the mood of the consultation was clearly that thoughautonomy of initiative needed to be protected,CCIA needed tobe more intimately a part of the total life of the World Council ofChurches and to be more intimately involved and related to theecumenical regional life of the member churches. On leaving the consultation one had a strong feeling that thepurposes for which the consultation was called will not be fullyrealized until after the World Councils'Fourth Assembly in Upp-sala,next summer,when strong representation from Asia,Africaand Latin America becomes dynamically involved in the decision-making process.One left with profound gratitude for the leadershipthat had brought the Commission of the Churches on InternationalAffairs to this point in history,and found oneself anxiously look-ing forward to the great potential of a completely internationalizedstaff and policy-making body within the CCIA. When a decision was reached that such a service should be eval-ated in the light of current history,to the end of planning itsiture,it is only natural that a whole series of expectations mightnerge.In the light of such expectations,the consultation was at-down. Sixty churchmen from around the world worked diligentlypr six days in three working parties,April 12-17,1967 in Theague.One dealt with the theological presuppositions.The fulleport of that working party has been published in the July,1967icumenical Review,therefore we will not deal with it here,exceptp state that there was unanimous agreement that the service andritness of an agency such as the Commission of the Churches onhternational Affairs was an essential part of the Church's mission. The Rev.Dr.John L.Regier is associate general secretaryfor Christian Life and Mission,National Councilof Churches ofChrist in the U.S.A. The second working party dealt with major concerns and pri-rities in international affairs.There was complete agreement onhe need to continue to press hard in three areas of concern: | COMMENCING WITH THE NEXT ISSUE,THE WORLD MISSION
NEWSLETTER WILL BE MERGED WITH THE ECUMENICAL COU-
RIER,A BI-MONTHLY BULLETIN PUBLISHED BY THE U.S.CON-
FERENCE FOR THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES.THE NEW
PUBLICATION WILL CARRY ON THE INTERESTS AND CON-
CERNS OF THE WORLD MISSION NEWSLETTER.CALLED THE
ECUMENICAL COURIER,IT WILL APPEAR ON A BI-MONTHLY
BASIS (WORLD MISSION NEWSLETTER HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
THREE TIMES A YEAR).IT WILL BE EIGHT PAGES IN LENGTH
WITH A PAGE SIZE OF 6%x 8%4.
THE WORLD MISSION NEWSLETTER WAS STARTED FOR CON-
TRIBUTORS TO THE INTERNATIONAL MISSIONARY COUNCIL.
WHEN IMC WAS MERGED WITH THE WORLD COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES IN 1961 TO BECOME THE DIVISION OF WORLD MIS-
SION AND EVANGELISM,THE NEWSLETTER CONTINUED TO
BE PUBLISHED SEPARATELY.THE DECISION TO MERGE THE
TWO PAPERS WAS TAKEN THIS YEAR BY THE DWME DIVISION-
AL COMMITTEE AND THE INTERPRETATION AND SUPPORT
COMMITTEE OF THE U.S.CONFERENCE FOR THE WCC.ALL
PERSONS CURRENTLY GETTING EITHER OR BOTH PUBLICA-
TIONS WILLAUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE THEMERGEDEDITION.
MISS FAITH POMPONIO,WHO HAS BEEN EDITOR OF BOTH
PUBLICATIONS,WILL EDIT THE NEW BI-MONTHLY. | | --- | A.The protection and implementation of human life; B.The promotion of peace-keeping operations;and C.The positive promotion and making of peace. Four major issues for studies were raised: 1

FAQs

What purpose did the ecumenical consultation for the CCIA serve?

It evaluated a proposed service in light of current history and discussed how the CCIA should be more closely integrated into the World Council of Churches’ life and the ecumenical regional activities of member churches.

What were the major international affairs areas identified for continued pressure?

Three areas were emphasized: protection and implementation of human life, promotion of peace-keeping operations, and the positive promotion and making of peace.

What newsletter changes were decided following the consultation?

The World Mission newsletter was to be merged with the Ecumenical Courier, a bi-monthly bulletin, continuing the interests of the World Mission newsletter with an eight-page format.

Sep 29, 2026

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