WCC NEWS: Facing forces of death and destruction, churches need “theologies of life, justice, and peace”

Facing contemporary social, political, and economic challenges, churches need to develop theologies of life, justice, and peace, according to Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, the programme director for public witness and diakonia of the World Council of Churches (WCC) at a public lecture in Germany. Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia Photo:Marcelo Schneider/WCC 24 October 2024 Such theologies can draw on the heritage of two significant anniversaries that fall in 2025: the 100th anniversary of the Universal Christian Conference for Life and Work in Stockholm, and the 40th anniversary of the South African Kairos Document, which denounced apartheid from the standpoint of faith and biblical theology. Mtata was giving a lecture on 22 October at the faculty of Protestant theology at the University of Münster on “Public Theology in Intercultural and Ecumenical Perspectives: Towards a Theology of Life, Peace, and Justice.” The 1925 Stockholm conference spoke out for justice, peace, and reconciliation after the carnage of the First World War, and led to the creation of the Life and Work movement, which joined with the Faith and Order movement to form the WCC in 1948. The heritage of the Life and Work movement was continued in the WCC in initiatives such as the call for a Just, Participatory, and Sustainable Society and the process for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation.  The Stockholm movement stimulated an ecumenical response to the forces that threatened life, through prayer, worship, study, and joint strategic action guided by the principles of God’s reign. The Kairos Document of 1985 was the product of a group of theologians in South Africa, and denounced theologies that supported apartheid or that that prioritized reconciliation and peace but avoided confronting and addressing the structural injustice. Instead it called for a “prophetic theology” - a theology of justice that actively challenge the status quo and aligns itself with the oppressed.  It is the spirit of such movements that the churches and the ecumenical movement must invoke today, Mtata said, facing the forces of death and destruction militating against God’s people and God’s creation. Originally from Zimbabwe, Mtata has been the WCC programme director for public witness and diakonia since 2023.    More information about 2025 as an Ecumenical Year on the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity The Kairos Document 1985: Challenge to the Church: A Theological Comment on the Political Crisis in South Africa (South African History Online) 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 Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland