WCC NEWS: WCC Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network commemorates 25 years with launch of new book “Life in Church” 📘

The ongoing meeting of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism commemorated 25 years since the establishment of Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN) with the launch of a new book on disability which sends the church to dismantle the forces that keep persons with disabilities at the bottom of the society and the church.  Anjeline Okola Charles, programme executive secretary for WCC-EDAN. Photo: John Christensen/WCC 11 July 2024 The first part of the book entitled, "Life in Church: Theological Reflections of Persons with Disabilities,” challenges and inspires readers through 10 personal reflections of persons with disabilities across the globe on what it means to live their faith. The second part contains a re-presentation of the foundational text “The Gift of Being Called to Be a Church of All and for All,” which speaks prophetically to the church and exposes the systems and structures in the life of the church that oppress, marginalize, and demean people with disabilities. Sharing with the participants of the meeting on what inspired him to tell his story, Rev. Dr Deva Jothikumar of National Council of Churches in India and a member of EDAN said, “Churches often overlook the potentials of persons with disabilities; seminaries are reluctant to admit and accommodate them, and some theological institutions demand a physical fitness certificate. It is imperative for churches to dismantle these.” The book was hailed as a sign of the of impact the EDAN ministry has had with the churches.  “The conversations that we will be having about what is the witness from the margins will mark a moment that shows the incremental journey that began in the 1960s. Today we realise that by broadening the table, we are not just changing the demographics, we are changing epistemologically in that we have a physical offering in this book that we can touch, feel, and internalise through EDAN,” said Rev. Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba, WCC programme director for Unity, Mission, and Ecumenical Formation.   The book is free to download at the WCC publications webpage World Council of Churches Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network to celebrate 25th anniversary (WCC news release, 6 July 2024) WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism begins work rooted in hope and transformation (WCC news release, 7 July 2024) WCC general secretary to Commission on World Mission and Evangelism: “you are shapers of the next phase of Christian mission” (WCC news release, 6 July 2024) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland