Making a substantial commitment to future ecumenical leadership, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries is contributing $1.5 million to the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland.
The money will be used to endow a chair in mission at the institute, which is popularly known as "Bossey" from its location in the historic Chateau de Bossey overlooking Lake Geneva.
Bossey has nurtured ecumenical leadership for half a century, noted the Rev. Dr. Randolph Nugent, the board's top executive. The gift shows the agency's commitment "to continue to serve global leadership needs of churches of all faiths through the programs at Bossey," he said.
The Rev. John Lindner, the institute's planning and development director in the United States, said the Board of Global Ministries' gift is the second largest in WCC history. It will bolster a five-year redevelopment plan launched by Bossey this year that includes a goal of $6 million in new endowments for faculty chairs and scholarships, a $4 million renovation of facilities and a major program expansion.
The gift brings "a promising future for the ecumenical education and formation of younger Christians," said retired United Methodist Bishop James Ault, who was president of the Board of Global Ministries from 1984 to 1988 and a member of the WCC Central Committee from 1981 to 1991. Ault played a role in securing the gift for Bossey.
As chairman of a U.S. committee on Bossey, Ault believes the $1.5 million will inspire other denominations "to look at the possibility of doing something similar."
Nugent also considers the gift an "important investment" for the future, as more people from around the world prepare to become mission leaders in the United Methodist Church and other denominations.
One of those people is the Rev. Jean Hawxhurst, associate pastor of Christ Church, United Methodist, in Louisville, Ky. A 1994 graduate of the Bossey program, she believes the United Methodist gift is "hugely important" to both the denomination and ecumenical community.
Hawxhurst learned about Bossey through her dean and others at Lexington (Ky.) Theological Seminary, which has a long history of sending students to the institute.
"The experience at Bossey changed my life and changed my ministry and my whole view of who we are as a church," she said. As a local pastor, she helps her congregation realize "we're just one part of a much larger body," she said.
Hawxhurst also values the relationships formed at Bossey. "The fact that I have Christian connections all over the world is something that I cherish now," she added.
The current class includes Denise Wood, who is director of youth ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church in McLean, Va., and is studying for a master of arts degree in Christian formation at Wesley Theological Seminary. Wood is receiving scholarship support from the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
Other Methodists in the 48th session at Bossey include the Rev. Simon Madhiba of Zimbabwe; the Rev. Timoci Naua, secretary for lay pastors, lay preachers and church music, Methodist Church in Fiji; and the Rev. Prabhakar Shadrack Tigadolli of the Methodist Church in India, who is studying for a doctorate in ecumenical theology.
See also: Bossey Institute Dates to 1946
October 28, 1999
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, New York, and Washington.