World Council of Churches - Agenda
Media contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release: 24 May 2004


June 2004



In this issue:
Religion, power and violence: an inter-religious consultation
Samuel Kobia to attend church merger in the Netherlands
Special Commission on Orthodox Participation
Samuel Kobia to visit the Evangelical Church in Germany


Religion, power and violence: an inter-religious consultation for peace-building
8-13 June 2004, Céligny, Switzerland

The WCC and Bossey Ecumenical Institute have invited thirty participants from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Indigenous traditions to explore the relationship between religion, power and violence at the 6th Visser ’t Hooft memorial consultation. Participants will seek to define responsible ways of exercising power and identify models, resources and networks for inter-religious peace-building. They are expected to choose topics for a forthcoming academic inter-religious and interdisciplinary study on this theme.

The Visser ’t Hooft memorial consultation was initiated in 1993 in memory of Dr Willem A. Visser ’t Hooft, WCC co-founder and its first general secretary. This year’s inter-religious consultation builds on the 2002 Visser ’t Hooft memorial consultation, which initiated an interfaith dialogue on religion and violence.

More information on Bossey seminars
http://www.wcc-coe.org/bossey/seminars-e.html

Decade to Overcome Violence
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/

Visser ’t Hooft memorial Ecumenical Leadership Foundation
http://www.jaysquare.com/resources/index.htm


Samuel Kobia joins celebrations as churches unite in the Netherlands
12 June, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia will take part in a ceremony marking the union of three Protestant churches in the Netherlands. The all-day ceremony uniting the Netherlands Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands will feature an address by Rev. Dr Kobia, a special liturgy and several workshops.

More information in Dutch:
http://www.kerkinactie.nl/

Media contact: Wisse Hettinga +31 (0) 30 880 1456


Special Commission on Orthodox Participation: Steering Committee to meet
15-19 June 2004, Minsk, Belarus

The Steering Committee of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC will meet to review the follow-up of the recommendations made by the Commission, and begin preparations for the ninth WCC assembly, taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2006. Items for discussion include the methodology of consensus decision-making, which will replace traditional voting beginning with the assembly; membership issues, some of which will involve constitutional changes; ecclesiology, focusing mainly on a statement prepared by Faith and Order, to be presented to the assembly. The Committee will receive information about the ongoing work of the Council, especially the preparations for the assembly, and consider particularly matters related to Orthodox participation in the life and work of the Council.

Special Commission on Orthodox Participation
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/special-01-e.html


Samuel Kobia to visit the Evangelical Church in Germany
28 June - 2 July, Hanover, Germany

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), meeting with Bishop Dr Wolfgang Huber and other representatives of the Council of EKD. During his visit, Dr Kobia will also meet members and students of the Ecumenical Institute at the University of Heidelberg. The programme of the visit also includes an encounter with leaders of several regional churches and EKD members involved, among other activities, in WCC work.

Evangelical Church in Germany
http://www.ekd.de/english/2169.html

Media Contact: Silke Fauzi +49 511 27 96 267, silke.fauzi@ekd.de


Media representatives interested in attending any of the events listed above should contact the WCC media relations office in advance. Unless noted otherwise, events are by invitation only and not open to the general public. Dates and venues may change without notice.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.