i) Interrogating and redefining power
If violence is an exercise of power over the powerless or a retaliation to such, what makes power prone to abuse? Why do people not only fear but also aspire for sources of violent power? Why do some religious traditions view violence as a divine attribute? How is power understood and exercised within our churches? What biblical and theological resources do we have to offer in the search for responsible new ways of understanding and exercising power? Interrogating and redefining power is crucial to our attempts to overcome violence.

In April 2003, WCC Faith and Order initiated a process of theological reflection on power at :

a theological consultation on "Interrogating and redefining power", Aide Memoire, organized in partnership with the Churches Commission on International Affairs (CCIA) and the WCC Justice, Peace & Creation team (JPC) at Crêt Bérard, Puidoux, Switzerland, 10-13 December 2003.

This consultation was followed by a second one with younger theologians from the south. Taking place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in February 2004, its purpose was to explore these theologians' distinct perspectives on power as people whose theology is shaped in contexts of intense struggles for life, justice and liberation.

The co-sponsorship of this pioneering venture by the theological concerns desk of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), together with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and the logistical support offered by McGilvary Faculty of Theology, Chiang Mai, and the Church of Christ in Thailand, all contributed to making this a very productive event.

The 27 participants - theological educators and social activists - came from Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific, and brought with them their specific contextual and experiential perspectives as well as their distinct tools of analysis to interrogate and redefine power.

The consultation was preceded by an intensive preparatory process. Each participant came with a paper on the theme from his/her own contextual/ experiential perspective. These were placed under three broad categories – people’s power versus political power, biblical and theological perspectives on power, and power in interpersonal relationships - and were discussed in groups.

In listening to each other, the participants were led to discern points of convergence as well as of difference, and to set a common agenda for further exploration.

The challenges/issues thus identified were clustered into four main groups:

An outcome of this process was an outline of common understandings for further exploration:

"Interrogating and redefining power", consultation of younger theologians from the South, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 23-28 February 2004. (Outline - Word version)

ii) Affirming human dignity, rights of peoples and the integrity of creation
Rwanda, where the earth still echoes with the blood of the hundreds of thousands of people slain; Rwanda, a nation that is learning to recognize and respect the value and worth of every human being, surrounded by the memories and images of violence that left 800,000 people dead in 1994 - this was the site of the next in the series of theological reflections on peace, justice and reconciliation organized by WCC Faith and Order during the Decade to Overcome Violence.

As part of the WCC’s work on the Decade , this second consultation was an attempt to discern what human dignity, rights of peoples and the integrity of creation mean for churches and the ecumenical movement as they attempt to counter the reality of massive abuse and destruction of life and its legitimization in the world today.

It was also an attempt to do theology informed by the perspectives and experiences of the victims of violence.

"Affirming human dignity, rights of peoples and the integrity of creation", aide memoire of a theological consultation organized by WCC Faith and Order in Kigali, Rwanda, 4-9 December 2004. (Aide memoire - Word version)

iii) Realizing mutuality and interdependence in a world of diverse identities
A group of 20 theologians and peace activists from regions which have come to be known for violent conflict arising from the aggressive assertion of identities - Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, DR Congo, Nigeria, Middle East, Eastern Europe - participated in this consultation. Invitees from the Sudan and Rwanda could not attend because of the difficulties in getting visas; a few concerned theologians from Norway and other parts of the world also participated.

Together, by sharing their specific contextual and experiential perspectives, the consultation participants reflected on the theme "Realizing mutuality and interdependence in a world of diverse identities".

The consultation attempted to identify the problems in, and prospects for, realizing mutuality and interdependence in contexts of diverse identities in an effort to challenge the churches to consider this as a contribution to the wider movement for peace during the Decade Overcome Violence.

"Realizing mutuality and interdependence in a world of diverse identities", aide memoire of a theological consultation organized by WCC Faith and Order in partnership with the Church of Norway & Norwegian Church Aid as a contribution to the Decade to Overcome Violence, Oslo, Norway, 27-30 April 2005. (Aide memoire - Word version)

UPCOMING EVENTS

A theological reflection on cruelty - the ugly face of violence
Crêt-Bérard, Puidoux, Switzerland, 5 - 8 December 2006.

Organised by Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches in collaboration with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

This consultation is part of WCC Faith and Order’s effort to facilitate theological reflection on peace within the context of the Decade to Overcome Violence.

Cruelty - the ugly face of violence, makes itself visible in many ways. But what often goes unnoticed is the cruelty embedded and active in certain historical processes, cultures, traditions as well as social, economic and political structures towards peoples and communities, and which creates an ethos for people to become cruel. The history of slavery, colonisation, religious persecution, concentration camps, genocides, military occupation, atrocities resulting from caste structures, physical and psychological torture, the killing of children, sexual violence, together with forms of both terrorism and counter-terrorism: all these instances portray the ugly face of violence.

The implications of these forms of violence are enormous and complex. This consultation, will therefore attempt to reflect theologically on structural and institutional forms of cruelty and explore issues such as: What is cruelty? Why should it be a matter of theological discussion, and What are the alternatives? The overall objective is to explore how the churches can respond to cruelty in all its manifestations during the Decade to Overcome Violence and beyond.

Twelve presentations from specific contexts and from different perspectives will provide the experiential basis for this theological reflection. These are: Palestine, casteism, violence against women, child soldiers, genocide, apartheid, racism, torture, anti-semitism, sex trafficking, terrorism and counter-terrorism, and rape used as weapon.