A series of conversations between representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches took place April 1 to 7 in Jongny sur Vevey, Switzerland.  The meetings were intended to foster mutual understanding between the two groups and to provide a forum to exchange ideas on the role of Christianity in the light of current social challenges, including poverty, HIV/AIDS, and violence.

Participants included 14 academics, theologians, and church leaders from eight countries. Each group presented papers intended to clarify issues of theological understanding and church identity, and address aspects of a broad theme: “The Church in the Setting of the Reformation Heritage—Its Mission in a World of Widespread Injustice and Ecological Destruction.” The meetings were co-chaired by Dr. Bert Beach, director of inter-church relations for the Adventist Church worldwide, and Professor Cynthia Rigby, associate professor of theology at Austin Theological Seminary, Texas, United States.

Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, attended the meetings.  During a visit earlier this year to the Adventist Church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, Nyomi said he hoped the conversations would provide a forum for exchanging ideas and that the process would help each group to gain “a clearer picture of the other.”

Five Adventist representatives presented papers at the meeting. “Seventh-day Adventists: A Profile” was presented by Dr. William Johnsson, editor of the Adventist Review.  Dr. Hans LaRondelle, an Adventist academic, explored Protestant theological heritage in Adventism, and Dr. John Graz, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Adventist Church, presented a paper entitled, “Seventh-day Adventists and Religious Freedom—An Aspect of Justice.” 

Other presenters included Dr. Roy Adams, associate editor of the Adventist Review, and Dr. John Baldwin, a professor at Andrews Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Reverend Ruppert Hambira, Synod Secretary of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, spoke about “Church Concerns from the Southern African Perspective,” and Dr. Arturo Piedra, Professor of Church History at the Latin American Biblical University, Costa Rica, presented a paper dealing with “The Challenges of the post-Cold War for Christianity in Latin America.”

Following the presentations and discussions, participants compiled a joint report to submit to their respective appointing church bodies. The meetings closed April 7 with worship at the Adventist Church in Ligniere, Gland, Switzerland.  For more information about the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which links 75 million Christians from churches of Presbyterian and Congregational origin, go to www.warc.ch. The Seventh-day Adventist Church Web site can be found at www.adventist.org.