wfn.org | Jan H. Kok, WCC publisher, dies

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Note #7051 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

11-February-2002
02062

Jan H. Kok, WCC publisher, dies 

Dutch ecumenist spent his whole life in publishing

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - Jan H. Kok, 59, who served the ecumenical movement for nearly 30 years as a communications officer for the World Council of Churches (WCC), died Feb. 7 in Geneva, Switzerland, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

	 A member of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, Kok joined the WCC as publications manager in 1973. In 1980 he was appointed deputy director of the Department of Communication and became communication director in 1987, a title he held until 1999 when he returned to his first love - publishing - as publisher for WCC Publications.

	Born into a publishing family, Kok was around printing and publishing from an early age. After receiving practical training in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, Kok worked for the largest theological publishing house in the Netherlands until the call came to go to Geneva. 

	At the WCC, Kok was instrumental in the creation of a number of innovative publications, including Risk Books - known for popularizing key themes of the ecumenical movement - and the Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement.

	The Rev. Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the WCC, said: "The WCC is deeply indebted to Jan Kok.  For more than a quarter of a century he has decisively influenced the public image and perception of the Council.  He has generously shared with the ecumenical fellowship his professional skill and competence, his passion for the ecumenical cause and his deep and yet sober faith commitment.  He represented the best of the genuine spirit of ecumenism and his memory will be cherished by a large circle of friends and colleagues around the world."

	In 1994, Kok played a key role in founding Ecumenical News International (ENI), which has become the foremost news agency in the world on global ecumenical issues and stories.

	"His persistence in the face of many difficulties, both financial and conceptual, was an example to those of us who were involved in the launch of ENI," said Robin Gurney, president of ENI and a former colleague of Kok's.  

	Kok insisted he was a publisher rather than a journalist. Yet he thoroughly understood journalism, according to Odessa Elliott, who, based at the grants program of Trinity Church, New York, helped arrange a major grant to enable ENI to be launched. 

	She remembers how in a speech given to representatives from independent religious news agencies in 1989, Kok described the differences between publicists, public relations staff and professional journalists. The job of the journalist, Kok said, was to ask "Who, What, Where, and How?" - and to write the answers clearly and concisely.  

	"Jan Kok challenged religious news agencies to commit themselves and their staff to the highest standards of journalism, leaving publicity and public relations to persons skilled in those areas," Elliott said.

	Kok is survived by his wife, Birgitta, and his two sons, Jakob and Frederik, in Geneva, and his mother and sister in the Netherlands. 

(Information for this story furnished by the WCC and ENI)    
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