As the outworking of the collaboration between the Global Christian Forum and the World Council of Churches, a historic meeting took place this week (May 22-23) at the Ecumenical Institute, located in Château de Bossey, Switzerland. “High-level” ecumenical leaders and officials of global church organizations gathered to consult with one another around the theme: “Complementary Roles on the Way to Greater Oneness in Christ”. The 25 participants of the consultation represented the four “pillar” organizations of the Christian Church: The PCPCU (Catholic Church), The World Council of Churches, The World Evangelical Alliance, and The Pentecostal World Fellowship. Present among the participants were Bishop Brian Farrell (Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit (General Secretary of the World Council of Churches), Bishop Efraim Tendero (Secretary General for the World Evangelical Alliance), Dr. David Wells (Vice-Chairman of the Pentecostal World Fellowship) and Dr. Ganoune Diop (Secretary of the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions). As the “first meeting of its kind” that gathered representatives from all the major streams and traditions of Christian faith (i.e. the Catholics, the Orthodox, Mainline Protestants, Evangelicals and Pentecostals), the participants had shared their views and perspectives on the understanding of “Christian unity” (i.e. what it means to be “one” and “share” fellowship in Christ), exploring ways in which each may recognize and receive the other as “gift” for one’s own faith tradition. Marking its 20th year by the time of its third global gathering in Bogota, Columbia in April 24-27, 2018, the Global Christian Forum as a new “platform” for inter-church dialogues has been instrumental in bringing around the common table the traditional ecumenists (e.g. the Historical Mainlines) with the “newer” and “emerging” faces of global Christian movements (e.g. Evangelicals and Pentecostals). Dean David Han has been actively involved with the Global Christian Forum since 2002 and currently serves as a member of its 5-member Facilitation Group representing the Pentecostal tradition. During the consultation, Dean Han has chaired the opening session guiding the participants to share their personal faith stories on the topic: “Our Journeys with Jesus Christ in Ecclesial Contexts”.
—Dr. David Han
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