About 3,000 Reformed Christians gathered at Calvin College June 20 for a worship service celebrating the birth of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, which unites 80 million believers in 108 countries.

The service included prayers and scripture readings, anthems and hymns sung in at least a dozen languages, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and a special exchange with children. WCRC leaders told them: "We are coming together not just for ourselves but also for future generations."

One child, Christina Lobulo, responded: "This is our family! We are one! To God be the glory!"

WCRC leaders also explained the …

About 100 people gathered at Clinton, S.C., earlier this month to learn more about cooperative ministry among small-membership churches.

The Linking for Ministry event, June 2-4, evolved in response to a renewed interest in cooperative ministry that can enhance the work and mission of churches with fewer members.

Embracing the event was worship that included uplifting music from local church musicians. Participants attended workshops on topics like practical ideas for enhancing existing ministries or initiating cooperative ministries, both locally and globally. Keynote speakers spoke about partnership in the gospel and congregational transformation.

The event was hosted by the Laurens County …

The general secretaries of the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) gave their final reports June 19 as the day-old World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) took flight.

Richard van Houten, who is retiring after 21 years as REC general secretary, and Setri Nyomi, WARC’s general secretary who will continue as the head of WCRC, mixed accounts of their organizations' progress since their last meeting with an optimistic look to the future of WCRC, which unites 80 million Reformed Christians worldwide.

The historic emphases REC brings to the union are biblical and confessional integrity, …

The task of awareness raising and training for overcoming the unjust and unequal relationships between men and women has joined together the Women and Gender Program of the Council of Churches of Cuba (CIC) and the Women and Gender Justice Pastoral Ministry of the national table of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) on the island, in a strategic way for reaching the largest number of people possible.

According to the Rev. Raquel Suárez, the program is giving continuity to the suggestions arising out of the Ecumenical Gathering of biblical-theological and pastoral reflection from the perspective of the reality …

More than 80 million Reformed Christians in 108 countries around the world formally united Friday when the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) approved articles of union and a constitution bringing them together as the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

The merger of the two organizations took place at the Uniting General Council, which is meeting through June 28 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Although the long-awaited merger went through, afternoon discussion on passage of a constitution and bylaws grew lively and took longer than planned over the issue of representation …

Fifteen new international mission co-workers will be commissioned on July 8 during the upcoming 219th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Their appointments by Presbyterian World Mission were confirmed at the recent meeting of the General Assembly Mission Council here.

“These new international workers … will be spanning the globe in their assignments, from Europe to Asia, the Middle East and Latin America,” said the Rev. Hunter Farrell, director of Presbyterian World Mission.

A respected American Indian religious educator and cultural consultant is to be a featured speaker at an international gathering of Reformed churches in the United States in June.

Richard Twiss, a member of the Rosebud Lakota/Sioux Tribe, will address the founding meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) in Grand Rapids, MI, on June 22. He is co-founder and president of Wiconi International, an organization supporting Christian ministry in indigenous communities throughout the United States and the Americas.

Twiss replaces the originally-scheduled keynote speaker, Wilma Mankiller, following her death in early April.

The June 18-28 Uniting General Council …

“In these times of division and dissension in so many areas of our lives — including church life — it is highly significant that two global groups of churches based in 108 countries and representing 80 million people should be willing to come together in a higher level of union than ever before,” says Richard van Houten, general secretary of the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).

The world’s two largest groupings of Protestant churches in the Reformed tradition are meeting here June 18-26 to found a new organization signaling a new level of relationship between two families of churches once divided …

In 1925, Dan Johnson Jr.'s grandfather, Samuel, was looking for a piece of land in this southeast Alaska island village on which to build a Presbyterian church. Samuel found his land when his sister volunteered her prized vegetable garden overlooking Chatham Strait.

Dan's father, Dan Sr., was baptized during the first worship service at what is today Frances Johnson Memorial Presbyterian Church — named after Sam’s much-loved first wife shortly after her death.

That's the way life is in the small Tlingit (pronounced "Klink-it") villages that dot the islands of southeast Alaska. Family — and church — ties are very …

With an expected 150 registered delegates, the Women’s Pre-Council is gathering both women and a few men from the entire world here this week.

The gathering was prepared by women from the North American member churches of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).

The Pre-Council, being held at Calvin College, precedes the Uniting General Council (UGC) that opens Friday (June 17), marking the merger of WARC and REC into the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

The Pre-Council began Monday under the theme, “Come With Jesus to the Streets.” It offers women from Reformed …