Transformative Spirituality and Mission: An Ecumenical Project

"... A new search for authentic spirituality has begun to build a common household ... Art and poetry, music and celebration, living together and listening to one another's stories, speaking out of the oppressed alongside the search for justice for the most wretched of the earth will be of equal importance in determining the emerging spirituality of the oikoumene, the whole inhabited earth." (1) A Journey Towards Unity The basis of this article is the Concept Paper elaborated by staff of the Mission and Evangelism team of the World Council of Churches as a framework for the study of Transformative Spirituality and Mission (2008-2010). A growing awareness has been perceived in the past years regarding spirituality as a basic pillar in the journey towards unity. The World Council of Churches and this concrete project are part of this long itinerary together with other partners and ecumenical organizations. The emphasis on spirituality on the part of some significant leaders of the ecumenical movement is very clear and it constitutes a hope for revitalizing our journey towards visible unity and full communion. Consequently, spirituality will be in the future one of the main elements in ecumenical education. It has been said that from the stand of spirituality we will develop and nurture ecumenism for our times in the 21st century. (2) It has also been said that transformative spirituality in mission can be considered as a new vision for the ecumenical movement. "As the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference in 1910 inspired the birth of the modern ecumenical movement, we aim to envision a new ecumenism by bringing transformative spirituality and mission to the heart of the ecumenical movement in the new century". (3) Some of the last assemblies of the WCC have been an expression of this awareness. We remember that the 1983 Vancouver assembly was called "the praying assembly". The 1991 Canberra assembly theme was expressed for the first time in the form of an invocation, "Come, Holy Spirit-Renew the Whole Creation". The 1998 Harare assembly reaffirmed this concern for an authentic spirituality including a number of ethical issues that required urgent attention. Perhaps one of the most interesting events we need to recall in this respect is the 1994 Annecy consultation on "Spirituality for our times". The assumptions made as a mark of a genuine, holistic spirituality for today were: first, the source and guiding force of a true spirituality is action by the Holy Spirit; secondly, spirituality is lived and sought in community; and thirdly, this spirituality involves an ongoing process of formation and discipleship. As to the specific marks of such a spirituality, it was affirmed that it is to be incarnational with a proper emphasis on the here-and-now of our existence. Informed by a sensitivity to culture and language and by the history and symbols of a people, it should be celebratory. This spirituality is life-giving and is sustained by the life of the Trinity, rooted in scripture and nourished by prayer. This spirituality calls us to suffering for others' sake, to take risks in the cause of justice. Open to the wider oikoumene, it is joyful and hopeful. The WCC Mission Statements (1980-2005) gathered under the title "You are the Light of the World" (Matt. 5:14), contain very rich spirituality material. As expressed in its introduction, this gospel reference, together with the parallel sentence "you are the salt of the earth", provides a key turning point in the Sermon of the Mount, linking the proclamation of the good news as beatitudes with the guidelines that follow for a gospel-based ethics and spirituality. It is a vision that combines the search for the justice God requires and a shining witness to Christ, a mission whose aim is to invite all people to give glory to God (Matt. 5:16). (4) The WCC Athens World Mission Conference (2005) was an opportunity to review some of the contextual elements for mission that we consider worth remembering here. …