Brighton, England - The Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council (DECC) met July 25-27, in Brighton, England, just prior to the World Convention around the theme, "Building Bridges of Understanding, Justice and Peace." Twenty-five official delegates from Disciples constituencies in nine different countries participated in the conference exploring issues of mission and Christian unity. The Rev. David M. Thompson, a member of the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom and professor at Cambridge University in England, presided over the conference, completing his four-year term as Moderator of the DECC.
A keynote presentation on the theme of the conference was presented by the Rev. Robert Smith, National Executive Officer of the Churches of Christ in Australia, with responses by the Rev. Shernett Smith, of the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and the Rev. David Vargas, of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the USA. The Rev. Hugh Davidson, a representative to the conference from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and pastor in the Church of Scotland, led two Bible studies on the topic of challenges to unity in today's world.
As representatives of the churches from around the globe reported on issues they face in their national settings, two issues surfaced as common challenges to our churches - HIV/AIDS, specifically the epidemic in Africa, and violence in our society and world. In identifying these common themes, the group's discussions centered around what role the church can play in building bridges of understanding and hope. The conference asked questions such as, "How is our church addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS? Of violence? How can we develop greater awareness for both in society? How can we help locally (i.e. in our own countries), and how can we contribute to the global awareness of these issues?"
In its business session, the conference elected new officers as members of the DECC Advisory Council:
Moderator:
The Rev. Robert Smith, Churches of Christ in Australia
Officers:
The Rev. B.J. Mpofu, Churches of Christ in Zimbabwe
Mr. David Coulter, Associated Churches of Christ in New Zealand
The Rev. Shernett Smith, United Church of Jamaica and Cayman Islands
The Rev. Robert Welsh was re-elected as DECC General Secretary.
Participants included:
Australia: Peter Overton, Robert Smith
Canada: Neil Bergman, Stan Litke
United Kingdom: Dan Yarnell (Fellowship of Churches of Christ), Rowena Francis, Sandy Hurter, Philip Woods, and David Thompson (United Reformed Church)
Jamaica: Verna Cassells, Shernett Smith
Malawi: George Chiingeni
New Zealand: David Coulter, Ron O'Grady
United States: David Vargas, Robert Riester, Robert Welsh
Zimbabwe: B.J. Mpofu
World Alliance of Reformed Churches: Karel Blei, Hugh Davidson
World Convention of Churches of Christ: Lyndsay Jacobs, Jeff Weston
The purpose of the DECC is to strengthen the common witness of the Disciples of Christ/Churches of Christ, together with United and Uniting Churches which Disciples have joined, to visible unity and common mission. While the DECC is the official body representing Disciples internationally, the Council is consultative in nature and thereby takes no actions and makes no decisions on behalf of its member churches. The DECC meets approximately every four to five years and consists of 18 member churches of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ, and United Churches in 17 countries throughout the world (Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Zimbabwe, the Congo, the United States, etc.). The DECC gives leadership to our international dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church and an official partnership with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.