Wesley Granberg Michaelson has just stood up at the end of the finance report (in a very bright fishing shirt!) and made a strong plea for the new executive committee to consider properly moving the new WCRC to the Global South. The previous executive committee had looked at three options in Accra, Johannesburg and Hong Kong.
Geneva is extremely expensive and one of the four most expensive places in the world for those visiting from abroad.
Michaelson listed the price of some of his expenses on a recent trip to Geneva. He pointed to considering a move being a question of stewardship, of justice and of solidarity as the centre of global Christianity has moved to the South. He expressed the hope that the WCRC would be the first of the church organisaitons to take the bold decision to move to the South. "If South Africa can host the World Cup it can also host the offices of the newly formed of WCRC" he added "We cannot continue in a place this expensive".
He also expressed the hope that as part of the process for searching for a new general secretary from 2014 this be undertaken in conjunction with a decision about moving the headquarters. The previous executive committeee had not made a decision on this because of the transitional nature of this time following the Uniting General Council and because of the high costs involved in relocating in the first instance.
Sounds like the new WCRC executive is going to have some interesting decisions on its agenda.
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