Annual Committee Meeting of the Global Christian Forum

19 Feb 2019

Reverend Andrzej Choromanski represented the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 10–14 February 2019, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the annual meeting of the Committee of the Global Christian Forum (GCF). Hosted by the Calvary Church (Pentecostal), and presided by the new Secretary, Reverend Dr Casely Essamuah, Methodist Church, Ghana, the Committee gave a positive evaluation of the GCF activities during the last year, in particular the third global gathering in Bogota, Colombia, in April 2018.

Focus on regional gatherings, larger involvement of younger ecumenists in GCF activities as well as wider diffusion of the forum idea among church leaders worldwide have been identified as important priorities for the near future. The meeting provided an opportunity for the Committee members to interact with leadership of local Churches and Ecclesial communities and to learn about the Christian presence and witness in a majority Muslim country.

The GCF is a recent ecumenical initiative that emerged at the end of the last century within the context of the World Council of Churches. Without formal membership, the GCF intends to create an open space where representatives of the so–called “historic churches” (Catholic, Orthodox and post–Reformation Protestant churches) and those identified as “recent churches” (Pentecostal, Evangelical and Independent) are able to join together on an equal basis to foster mutual respect, to pray, to share faith stories, and to address together common challenges in the fast changing situation of global Christianity. The GCF Committee is composed of 25 persons representing different churches and Christian organizations. It meets once a year to provide the general oversight of GCF activities. The Catholic Church fully participates in the GCF initiatives through the PCPCU.

Reverend Dr Essamuah, GCF Secretary, visited the Pontifical Council from 4–8 December 2018.

_{Photos: Cover photo: Stephen Liu; other photos: David Tan; by kind courtesy of Calvary Church}