Ecumenical theologian reflects on World Council of Churches conference on unity
A World Council of Churches (WCC) conference in 2025 in Egypt is to gather major Christian traditions to explore how churches can call each other to visible unity, inspired by the experiences of the early church, according to one of the key planners of the event.
The gathering – the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order – will mark the anniversary of the world’s first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea of 325, a key moment in the history of Christian faith.
In a WCC video interview, the Rev. Prof. Dr Sandra Beardsall, moderator of the Nicaea 2025 steering group of the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, reflects on the significance of the Council of Nicaea and the inspiration it provides for the World Conference.
“Nicaea was the very first Council that brought together Christians from all around the world to meet together, to make decisions,” says Beardsall in the interview with Dr Stephen Brown, editor of the WCC’s journal, The Ecumenical Review.
At Nicaea at 325, Christians who only recently had been persecuted in the Roman Empire were able to gather under the patronage of the Emperor to affirm their faith, and witness to the society around them.
Their deliberations led to the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith that would “bind all Christians to each other,” says Beardsall, from the United Church of Canada.
“They succeeded for the most part in forming a community that was able to work out, was able to overcome, a lot of social, cultural, and theological differences,” she adds. “And I think there are so many broken places in the world today that need that kind of energy and experience.”
Organized by the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, the World Conference will take place from 24 to 28 October 2025 at the Logos Papal Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church at Wadi El Natrun, near Alexandria, Egypt.
It will be the centrepiece of the WCC’s activities to mark Nicaea and will be the sixth such gathering since the First World Conference on Faith and Order in Lausanne in 1927.
“Each of these conferences was seeking to response to the issues for the churches in their own time,” says Beardsall.
“So this Sixth World Conference will try to confront the issues that face us today with some of those same questions about our faith and how we live our lives as churches and how we can better call one another to Christian unity.”
Sidney J. Jansma, Jr., to be Awarded Kuyper Prize
DECEMBER 13, 2023
Sidney J. Jansma, Jr., will be the recipient of the 2024 Kuyper Prize, which is awarded annually by Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. The award, established in 1998 by Rimmer and Ruth de Vries, is named after Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper. It is awarded to a scholar or community leader whose outstanding contribution to their chosen sphere reflects the ideas and values characteristic of Kuyper’s Neo-Calvinist vision of religious engagement in matters of social, political, and cultural significance in one or more of the “spheres” of society.
“I’m truly surprised and honored to be selected,” said Jansma, a 1965 alumnus of Calvin. “I have always tried to live a life that testified to my belief in the lordship of Jesus, and that I am simply a steward of what has been given to me and our family.
Jansma is an influential leader in industry and in business, serving for more than 40 years as leader and CEO of Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation, currently as its chair of the board. Over the years he has served as chair of the Michigan Oil and Gas Association and as founding chair of its Political Action Committee, chair of the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s Tax Committee, and chair of the Environment and Safety Committee. He has also served on the board of directors of the American Petroleum Institute and as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C..
Jansma is also deeply engaged with various church and philanthropic activities locally and internationally.
“Sid takes seriously what it means to be a Christian business owner and the stewardship responsibility of a person of means,” said Wiebe Boer, president of Calvin University. “He is a pillar of the community and stands in a long line of Kuyperian Reformed philanthropists and patrons of God’s kingdom.”
One of the spaces Jansma has invested his time in significantly is higher education, both locally and nationally, and even in the prison system. He has served on the boards of Calvin Theological Seminary and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He was instrumental in setting the vision of the School of Business at Calvin University, and he played a key role in the creation of the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI)—a leading example of prison education nationwide.
“Sid is a person of faith who seeks to better the spheres of business, education, politics, and the church,” said Jul Medenblik, president of Calvin Theological Seminary. “Over the past 20 years there is not a square inch of Calvin University, Calvin Theological Seminary, the Calvin Prison Initiative, and Alpha Ministry that has not had some contact or impact from the ministry, vision, and encouragement of Sid Jansma, Jr.”
Christian higher education and most significantly Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary have been key areas of focus for Jansma because, he said, he sees the importance of their missions. “As I grew older, I realized that the importance of higher education is not to remember all your courses, but it’s to build your character and your faith,” said Jansma.
“With my first wife, Joanne (deceased), and now my second wife, Cate, we have felt called to support Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary because both institutions are in the business of training women and men to go into the world and to do exactly what Kuyper called for us to do in the Stone Lectures—to realize that every square inch belongs to Jesus. What a big bang for the buck, to support places that impact so many lives that are going out and living for the next 50 years or more, putting their training to good use in whatever job they decide to do, and playing their part in transforming society for God.”
Jansma joins an esteemed group of past Kuyper Prize award winners, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, a Templeton Prize-winning philosopher, a prime minister, and a pair of U.S. ambassadors.
Jansma will be awarded the prize during the Kuyper Conference, which runs April 2-4, 2024, on the campus of Calvin University. The theme of the conference is “Stewardship in the Kingdom” and will include plenary sessions featuring Anthony Bradley (Kuyper College), Sarah Hamersma (Syracuse University), Jason Stansbury (Calvin University), and Cory Willson (Calvin Theological Seminary). The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is a sponsor of the conference.
Source: www.crcna.org
WCC Christmas message: “What Is This Light?”
The World Council of Churches shared its Christmas message with the whole world, a world in which mounting challenges threaten to diminish our hope.
The message reflects that the celebration of the birth of Jesus is our defiance of despair.
“He is our light in a time of darkness, enabling us to live for the truth and to strive for the redemption of the world,” reads the message. “Children of the light, we will not settle, nor let others settle, for a world lethally scarred by violence, seared by heat, or darkened by fear.”
The World Council of Churches shared heartfelt joy. “We redouble our resolve to labour tirelessly with you for the health and healing of the sick, a fair economy, the well-being of migrants and displaced people, peace and security for all, the advancement of human rights and dignity, deeper community in faith, and the flowering of justice for women, for children, for the earth itself,” the message reads. “So let us rejoice! The light of Christ promises to banish our darkness. May it brighten our spirits and warm our hearts.”
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