Centenary World Mission Conference Opens in Edinburgh

Over 300 delegates from churches and mission organizations around the world, as well as 1,200 visitors, gathered today for a five-day conference that participants hope will set a global direction for Christian mission in the 21st century.

Christians from Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches will be gathering from June 2-6 for the "Edinburgh 2010" conference, which is also the centenary celebration of the historic 1910 World Missionary Conference (WMC) in Edinburgh that many regard as the beginning of the ecumenical movement.

Analysts observe that Edinburgh 1910 represented the Northern-based Protestant mission movement of the day, but that today, no one conference in any one place can do justice to the diverse mosaic and richness of local Christian communities seeking to live out the Gospel in their contexts.

According to Ruth Padilla DeBorst, the General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship, Edinburgh 2010 is vital because, "Our world is groaning under the stress of violence and injustice, poverty and hopelessness, HIV/AIDS and ecological degradation. Yet God's reconciling, healing work has not ceased."

"And God's people here, there and everywhere are called together to be part of that mission," she added.

Planning for the conference has taken five years, and was spearheaded by a group as diverse in their faith traditions, backgrounds, and places of origin as the crowd gathering in Edinburgh today.

However, tensions between the Edinburgh 2010 leadership erupted earlier this week with the suspension of the conference's international director, Daryl Balia, who accused the Church of Scotland of "hijacking" the event to serve their own interests.

Balia was barred from attending Edinburgh 2010 and suspended from his job at the University of Edinburgh after circulating two documents that criticized the handling of the event.

"It was ridiculous to have a conference of this nature at this time in Edinburgh," Balia told Ecumenical News International. "The WMC has been hijacked by the Church of Scotland whose partner in this project is the University of Edinburgh…At this conference the voices that will be heard are not the voices of those who are suffering."

The Church of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh have been driving forces behind Edinburgh 2010, and previously hosted mission conferences in the city every year since 2002. The groups have not commented on Balia's suspension.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict sent his greetings to the Edinburgh participants, praying that "we all might renew our commitment to work humbly and patiently under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to live again together, our common apostolic heritage."

The Edinburgh 2010 conference will close on Sunday with a live broadcasted celebration that will feature a sermon from the Archbishop of York John Sentamu.

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