Magyar Egyház, 2005 (84. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2005-10-01 / 4. szám
8. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ WARC SEEKS NEW WAYS OF BRINGING CHURCHES TOGETHER The worldwide family of Reformed churches needs to come together in new ways while remaining open to the higher goal of full Christian unity, says Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). "The whole idea of belonging to an Alliance is to express our belonging together. Often the Reformed family is known for our tendency to divide. Can we in this era forge a new reputation which involves picturing ourselves beyond our national boundaries and holding ourselves accountable to one another? "We need to explore what being a communion means and how being a communion within the Reformed family can help us be a closer family. At the same time we will always value the fact that belonging together as a Reformed family is not an end in itself. "We have been called to a higher goal of Christian unity." Nyomi, who was speaking on 9 November in Taipei, Taiwan, to the North East Asia Area Council of WARC, said this might involve Asian churches working with sister organizations to better serve member churches. This is the first area council the general secretary has met following WARC's recent meeting of its executive committee where it entered a new era with a fresh vision and a set of seven core callings. Nyomi outlined the core callings in his speech in Taipei. The Alliance general secretary reminded members of the area council that Reformed ancestors saw the church as always reforming. The challenge today, he cautioned, is not to turn the things Reformed churches hold as dear into a "static set of traditions." To avoid this, Nyomi said, the Reformed family must constantly be interpreting and re-interpreting its tradition and theology for contemporary witness. To do this effectively Reformed churches must take seriously the voices of women and those on the margins of society. "The church in many parts of the world acts as if it has space for everybody on Sunday but in terms of commitments and decision making processes, it counts only men usually of 50 years and above," Nyomi said. "How can we make ourselves open to God's transformation which makes it possible for us to be more inclusive and to regard women and men, young and old, lay and clergy as partners in the mission of God?" The general secretary said he was happy that many WARC member churches are in the process of studying the Accra Confession, a critical statement on neoliberal economic globalization from the Alliance's 24th General Council. While some churches in the North were originally hesitant about some parts of that statement, study programmes are changing that. WARC, through its project on covenanting for justice in the economy and the earth, will continue to be prophetic, he pledged. Nyomi said that Reformed churches must also hear the call for spiritual renewal that is coming from young people, a call he says could help bring about a renewal in many churches. "Let us listen to our young people in the process," he added. WARC is a fellowship of 75 million Reformed Christians in 218 churches in 107 countries. World Alliance of Reformed Churches News Release 150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Tel. +41.22 91 6243; Fax: +41.22 791 6505; Email: jas@warc.ch John P. Asling Executive Secretary, Communications World Alliance of Reformed Churches web: www.warc.ch New Narnia Movie 'Powerful' Today is the 42nd anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis. Lewis’ legacy is about to be discovered by a new generation. On December 9, a film of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” will be released in thousands of American theaters and many others around the world. This film has everything Christians have sought in a movie - it is well-written, well-acted and it contains a solid metaphor for Jesus Christ in the person of Aslan the lion that is subtle enough to stimulate conversation with unbelievers. It is a powerful film. I saw it last Friday night at a screening in New York and tears came to my eyes; not only because of the content, but because Walden Media and Disney have teamed up to give us something we can cheer and support. It is important that we do both. Buy tickets and see this film when it is released. Take family and friends. Invite nonbelievers. Make these companies a huge profit and they will make more of these types of films. It’s all about supply and demand. If we show by our ticket purchases that we demand, they will supply. Cal Thomas Syndicated Columnist November 22, 2005 Order AFA-recommended parental resource "Lessons from the Lion" Barbara Nicolosi is executive director of the group Act One and editor of "Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture." Nicolosi had a preview viewing of Narnia last month — and she says Christian parents can exhale and know that the movie is true to the book. "[Fjrom a believer's standpoint, the themes in the book are absolutely there," she says. The Act One official asserts that producer/director Peter Jackson "worked very hard to kind of avoid the Christian themes" in his The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books. "[But] this is not the case in the Narnia movie," Nicolosi says. "They really respected the allegory, and they respected the themes that Lewis was working with." She testifies that, as a believer, she was tremendously moved by the film — and especially by the character of Aslan the Lion. "Especially when we were watching Edmund talk to Aslan; they don't really tell you what's being said, but you kind of see it," she says. "If you know the story, Edmund is kind of screwed up and then he has this little meeting with Aslan. And I was just crying [as 1 was] watching; it was just beautifully done." Nicolosi says the movie is a very lyrical and poetic way to tell the story of Jesus, but that the Christian allegory may be lost on those who do not know Christ. Consequently she says believers should be prepared for the movie to be "pure foolishness" to critics at Variety and the New York Times. Subject: Quote of the month With hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and severe tstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, with the big quake in Pakistan, the quote of the month is from ... Jay Leno: "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
