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“The Soul of an Assembly”
Author(s) -
Hammes Verena
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the ecumenical review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.104
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 1758-6623
pISSN - 0013-0796
DOI - 10.1111/erev.12623
Subject(s) - theme (computing) , soul , prayer , context (archaeology) , active listening , gospel , perspective (graphical) , nothing , sociology , general assembly , aesthetics , epistemology , law , history , visual arts , theology , philosophy , political science , computer science , communication , art , world wide web , archaeology
In 2022, the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, under the theme “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” Assembly themes are not simply random slogans, chosen by chance and therefore without significance. They serve as a guideline for the assemblies and as a word spoken to the delegates and to the wider world as an orientation for debate, decisions, and, not least, prayer. Themes are nothing less than the soul of the assembly, carefully chosen and discussed ahead of an assembly, reflected on by delegates, and bringing Christians around the world into closer contact with the message of the assembly and with God by listening to the words of the gospel. This article seeks to place the theme of the Karlsruhe assembly in the context of previous assembly themes, identifying continuities and highlighting differences.