wfn.org | new WCC website

[Miriam REIDY PROST <mr@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
6 November 1998

WCC LAUNCHES REDESIGNED WEB SITE FOR ASSEMBLY
 <http://www.wcc-coe.org>

On a completely redesigned web site <http://www.wcc-coe.org>,
launched today,  people around the world with access to the world wide
web will be able to follow the World Council of Churches (WCC) Eighth
Assembly scheduled for 3-14 December in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The site (<http://www.wcc-coe.org>) will also carry news of the WCC
Decade Festival in Harare (27-30 November) which marks the
culmination of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with
Women.

Information on the Eighth Assembly will include the reports of the General
Secretary and Moderator, presentations from plenary sessions on
Africa, the Ecumenical Decade, the assembly theme Turn to God -
Rejoice in Hope, and the Common Understanding and Vision study
process which has examined and come up with suggestions for the
future role and purpose of the WCC.  There will also be information from
the two phases of assembly hearings which will examine past WCC
work and suggest policies and priorities for the future.  Web coverage of
assembly worship will include full details of the opening and closing
worship, plus an evening vigil service and the 50th anniversary
recommitment service.

Through WCC press releases posted at <http://www.wcc-coe.org>
web users around the world will be able to keep abreast of decisions
taken, their implications for the ecumenical movement and the reactions
of key ecumenical figures. Coverage will also include news on the more
than 400 Padare offerings (padare is a Shona word for meeting place)
which will provide opportunities for churches, ecumenical organisations
and related groups to explore urgent topics on today's ecumenical
agenda.  Web users from around the world can send their greetings and
comments to the Eighth Assembly at <greetings@mail.wcc-coe.org>

Prior to the redesign launch, the WCC web site already carried full details
of Assembly preparations and plans. All relevant previous information
remains but the site has now been expanded and made more
user-friendly.  Web editors, Doug Chial and Miriam Reidy, say the
redesigned site is aimed at  a wide audience.  *We hope to provide
information for those who are already interested in the WCC, and also to
attract new visitors for whom information needs to be presented in such
a way that it is immediately understandable*.  English, French and
German options are available, Spanish is on the way, and it is hoped
Russian may soon be possible.

For more information stop reading and start clicking!  
<http://www.wcc-coe.org> is the place to go.

Contacts: Doug Chial and Miriam Reidy <webeditor@mail.wcc-coe.org>
Telephone +41.22.791.6166/7

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 330, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798 13 46
E-Mail: jwn@wcc-coe.org
http://www.wcc-coe.org

P.O. Box 2100
CH-1211 Geneva 2