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A Common Vision

It is easy to forget that not so long ago ecumenism was not on the agenda of most mainstream Christian churches. Over the last four decades much progress has been made, but it was one hundred years ago in Edinburgh that the first seeds of the ecumenical movement were sown.

Br Stephen Smyth* and Archie MacLullich report from Edinburgh.

A five-day international and multi-denominational conference will take place in Edinburgh from 2-6 June as the centenary event celebrating the landmark World Missionary Conference held in the city in 1910. In a press release, issued on 26 January from the Edinburgh 2010 office, the significance of the 1910 conference is underlined by the following quotation from Pope Benedict, in his Vespers address on the last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: ‘a century later, the intuition of these brave pioneers is still relevant in a world marked by religious indifference, and even by a growing indifference, to the Christian faith.’

Mission in Humility and Hope

The vision of the 1910 Conference was described as ‘mission and unity’ or ‘unity for purpose of mission’ and the eight commissions established as working groups two years previously in Oxford formed the substance of the deliberations of the one thousand two hundred delegates. The document, ‘Mission in Humility and Hope’, drew together their principal considerations and concerns, placing particular emphasis on the mission enterprise, extending outwards from Europe to the rest of the world, captured in the phrase: ‘The Evangelisation of the World in this Generation’. Subsequent analysis of the impact of the 1910 Conference points to effects far beyond the shared experiences of delegates during those significant days, or the production of volumes of proceedings. The elaboration of the ecumenical movement and the establishment of such bodies as the World Council of Churches can be traced back to their roots in the overarching concepts of the Conference focused on unity in mission; on this basis the Conference has been described as ‘one of the defining moments of the Western missionary movement.’

The planning process for the 2010 Conference will involve the following significant elements: seventy delegates will be appointed by the Edinburgh 2010 Study Process Monitoring Group to work on the main study themes; one hundred and eighty further delegates will be chosen by the ‘stakeholders group’ as participants; a General Council characterised by wide and inclusive representation of Christian churches was constituted in 2007 and will carry responsibility for the organisation of the 2010 June event. In recognition of the strong Christian presence in the global south, it is anticipated that sixty per cent of the participants will be from the south – further, fifty per cent of the participants will be women and twenty per cent under the age of thirty. These measures are designed to ensure fair and equitable representation of the World Church.

On the final day of the Conference, nine hundred local and international visitors will be invited to join delegates in worship. In addition, there will be facilities to follow the proceedings on line.

Follow proceedings online

It can be noted that the basic framework for the 2010 events, involving thematic study groups and wide ranging participation, mirrors to some extent the basic format of the 1910 event, but differences reflecting changes in society are apparent in the detail of the current themes; for example, the theme for ‘mission spirituality and authentic discipleship’.

The study will deal with both individual and community forms of spirituality, drawing on the experience of the early Church, of Christians from all ages, of new Christian movements, as well as of the many new churches in the South. It will seek to understand mission in relation to such concepts as new creation, spiritual gifts, renewal, reconstruction, identity, holistic witness and service, but also suffering and martyrdom. It will explore the role of the Spirit and of the Church as signs and portents of the goal of all endeavour in the glory of God.”

In addition, conference planners have identified a number of crosscutting threads termed ‘transversals’ – such as women and mission, reconciliation and healing, ecological perspectives, youth and mission, etc. – which can be discerned within the nine study themes.

Conference organisers actively encourage interested parties to engage with the conference progress through online facilities, Skype, Twitter, Facebook and the Edinburgh 2010 website as follows:

Worldwide participation

The website will give further details of the livestream facilities planned for the event. It also invites participation at a local level through a wide range of suggested options, e.g. organising

house group celebration
youth night
ecumenical act of worship.

Artistic participation is also suggested through poetry, song writing or designing a symbol with facilities to share these with others online.

The Revd Andrew Anderson, Chair of the Edinburgh 2010 General Council, states: ‘This is a complex and challenging event to organise, given the wide range of representation from the World Church, but it is immensely exciting and we have received already the kind of world wide support and commitment that promises to make it really successful’.

The wider representation from the various churches and the effort made to enhance participation also adds to a renewed spirit of solidarity as Andrew. Anderson explains: ‘This is a unique project bringing together in an unprecedented way the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Anglican and Evangelical Protestant Christians from around the world to work out a common vision for mission in the twenty-first century.’

2010 Locally: Remember – Celebrate – Be Inspired

Across the world, churches and mission groups are being asked to remember 1910, to celebrate the work of mission and ecumenical cooperation in 2010, and to be inspired for work and witness for tomorrow.

People are encouraged to hold the 2010 conference in their daily prayers and in special services, especially ecumenically. Groups might wish to organise a local outreach event or a youth night or a talk by someone with first hand mission experience. Four hundred representatives of Edinburgh congregations and churches and mission groups across Britain and Ireland will join the conference delegates for a final celebration on Sunday 6 June. This will take place in the historic Assembly Hall where 1910 met. It is hoped that this service may be broadcast on-line.

Prayer cards, a leaflet and other resources are, and will be, available on:

Follow the resources links.
Let us know what you are doing by emailing: Contact us We will add your information to the main 2010 website events page.