The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has established the World Evangelical Alliance Sustainability Center (WEASC) in the UN City of Bonn, Germany to strengthen global creation care efforts by churches, evangelical ministries, and individual evangelicals.
WEASC’s core mandates are to address sustainability issues from a Christian perspective, contribute evangelical positions and recommendations to global debates and policy processes, and empower followers of Christ to exercise leadership in sustainability efforts from the local to the global level.
The WEA Sustainability Centre according to a statement issued to the media across the globe and copied to WatchGhana.Com is expected to work closely with the WEA’s Creation Care Task Force (CCTF).
The statement quoted the Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Bishop Efraim Tendero of saying that “caring for God’s creation is part of an authentic and biblically orthodox Christian faithâ€.
The CEO indicated that the WEA Sustainability Center would provide the requisite guidance, practical support, and actionable ideas to inspire and empower both individual believers and congregations in every part of the world to faithfully care for God’s creation, make a positive contribution to the common good, and provide constructive evangelical input to international politics concerning the environment.
Presently, the WEA Sustainability Centre is co-led by Matthias K. Boehning (Director, Bonn) and Dr. Chris Elisara (Associate Director, San Diego). Dr. Elisara leads the WEA’s CCTF and lends his extensive expertise as well as the CCTF’s global network to the WEASC. Matthias Boehning is concurrently working as the WEA’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Bonn leading operations out of the newly established WEA Bonn Representative Office just across the road from Bonn’s UN Campus.
The statement noted that the overarching objective of the WEASC is to equip churches and congregations around the world to implement creation care on a daily basis, thereby becoming a strong, legitimate, and unified voice in global sustainability.
The WEA’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Bonn and Co-leader of the WEA Sustainability Centre, Matthias Boehning also said that their vision is to serve the global evangelical community to become faithful and effective stewards of creation.
In achieving the set vision, the WEA Sustainability Centre’s efforts and daily activities, he said would be guided by a very simple vision – abbreviated by “4Câ€: Churches Championing Creation Care.â€
Since 2012, WEA has been working intensively on environmental issues through CCTF, which in 2016 partnered with the Lausanne Movement to form the Lausanne/Creation Care Network (LWCCN).
Matthias K. Boehning
Dr. Chris Elisara, Associate Director of WEA, San Diego and Co-leader of WEA Sustainability Centre described the WEASC as “a monumental step forward for the WEA’s creation care work which would enhance the operationalization of the knowledge, theological insights, and initiatives developed by CCTF, LWCCN, and other partners.â€
WEASC’s priority issues include participation in global policymaking processes, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable cities.
The statement indicated that the official date for an opening celebration for the WEA Sustainability Center featuring high-level speakers from UN sustainability-focused agencies, WEA global senior leadership, the German Evangelical Alliance, and German political leaders will soon be released on the Sustainability Center’s website. The celebration date will also be announced in the forthcoming “Creation Stewardship Newsletter†that will inform readers about news, events, and helpful resources produced by the WEASC, CCTF, and LWCCN.
, December 12, 2019