VanElderen, Marlin, and World Council of Churches. Finding a Voice : Communicating the Ecumenical Movement, Risk Book Series ; No. 91. Geneva ; Great Britain: WCC Publications, 2000.

John Bluck has slected some 80 editorials written fro the WCC publication One World between 1983 and 1994 by the late Marlin VanElderen. They are vivid reminders of incidents and issues; short, readable, and still surprisingly pertinent.

Editorials are necessarily occasional pieces, but those who respect the discipline of what they can and cannot say can exploit an opportunity for significant communication. In the hands of a sympathetic yet critical observer they are a contemporary source of wisdom in the best of that tradition.

Given that the “editorial” of an ecumenical magazine, no less than that of a secular newspaper, is a place where “objective” reporting is allowed to give way to personal opinion, it is interesting to note how these roles can shift. The body of a publication can be so carefully designed that the impact is largely contrived. Someone like VanElderen who cares about issues and respects the thoughtfulness of readers, can use editorials to open up issues in ways that require people to dig into their faith and values and draw their own conclusions. It may be opinion, but it is not opinionated. There may be more respect for the reader in raising the right questions, than in the “objective” reporting of stories selected to create a calculated impression.

In Finding a Voice we see editorials used to sow seeds, raise awareness of dimensions, set the tone of discussion, and draw people of diversity into conversation. It provides a reminder of the importance of journalism as a Christian calling, and the prophetic and pastoral gifts of lay leadership. We see the witness of humble but dogged faith, acute observation, acceptance of foibles human and ecclesiastical and a persistent call to rise above them. Not the least of the merits of this book is that it celebrates the gift of being able to say something worth saying in a short space.

John Roxborogh. Touchstone, 2001.