World Council of Churches - Central Committee News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release: 29 August 2003 - pr-cc2003-09e


US focus next year for WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence


The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee has designated the United States as its 2004 focus during the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) (2001-2010).

According to Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), "If ever there was a part of the world where work for peace is important, it is the USA."

In its report to the Central Committee, the Programme Committee acknowledges the opposition of US churches to war in Iraq, and their work in alleviating suffering at home and abroad.

However, it notes that because of the unchallenged power of the USA, "The US administration seems to see itself in a position where it can afford to disregard the international order, refuse to be accountable to the UN, and ignore the concerns of the world's populations."

It also notes problems of "poverty, violence, racism in all its diverse forms, inter-faith relations, migration and inequality in education and employment".

"We live in a nation where the cause of peace needs a much greater emphasis," Kirkpatrick commented.

The DOV's US focus will aim at strengthening and resourcing churches and movements working for peace in the USA, encouraging a commitment to mutual accountability, and deepening the churches' understanding of issues such as power, militarism, and community-building.

"The WCC set a broad framework," said Rev. Dr Fernando Enns of the Mennonite Church in Germany. "Churches and agencies have to decide themselves how to deal with issues; everyone has to decide where the violence is in their context. Then we have to bring it back into the fellowship of churches and share it here.

"Having this decade gives visibility to work which has been going on in churches for years."

The DOV focus in 2005 will be Asia, and in 2006 Latin America.

Information on the Decade to Overcome Violence is available on our website at: http://www2.wcc-coe.org/dov.nsf

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.