wfn.org | Title: WCC Upcoming Events October 2003

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - Upcoming events - October 2003

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WCC general secretary to visit churches in Angola  
7-15 October 2003, Angola (Luanda, Huambo, Lobito, Uige/Luena) 

The last pastoral visit to churches in Africa by the outgoing
general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr
Konrad Raiser, will be to Angola. The visit is intended to
discover how the ecumenical family may accompany the churches in
Angola as they struggle to heal the wounds of the long civil war
from which their country is emerging.  With "Healing the Land" as
its theme, the visit will allow Raiser to meet representatives of
WCC member churches, ecumenical bodies, government and civil
society organizations involved in Angola's reconstruction after
virtually a quarter of a century of civil war. More information
at: 
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pr-03-31.html
 

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Seminar on methodologies to approach social and ethical issues 

8-12 October 2003, Morges, Switzerland	

Christians from Orthodox and Protestant traditions will reflect
together on how churches approach social and ethical issues.
Around 30 participants from WCC member churches, Christian World
Communions, regional ecumenical organizations, and university and
theological centres will use case studies from Orthodox and
Protestant church contexts to look at differences and
similarities in how churches reflect on and respond to moral
issues facing society today. More information at: 
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pr-03-32.html 

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Being church - women's voices and visions  
10-17 October 2003, Johannesburg, South Africa	

20 women theologians from all over Africa will meet with the
international steering committee of a WCC-initiated study on
"Women's Voices and Visions: Being Church" to explore how African
women "re-imagine" the church as a place of justice,
inclusiveness, and respect for people's diverse gifts. The
meeting is being co-organized by the WCC and the Circle of
Concerned African Women Theologians.   

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Latin American workshop on human dignity and globalization  
20-23 October 2003, Santiago de Chile, Chile  

Representatives of churches and ecumenical human rights
organizations in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and
Brazil will meet to revisit and to systemize  the collective
experience of churches and ecumenical organizations that have
been working to defend human dignity in the region over the past
three decades. Within the framework of the Decade to Overcome
Violence (DOV), participants will also identify new challenges to
the defence and promotion of life within the context of
globalization. A second, related, workshop focusing on Central
America will take place in Guatemala in March.	 

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WCC encounter with IMF and World Bank  
28-29 October 2003, Washington DC, USA	

This encounter is the second in a series that began with a
two-day seminar in Geneva on 13 and 14 February, 2003. At that
time, about 30 participants representing the WCC, the IMF and the
World Bank agreed to continue the process of dialogue, and
identified four concerns: the challenges of globalization;
participation of people in development - such as in Poverty
Reduction Programmes and in debt resolution; the respective roles
of the state and public and private sectors in development and
poverty reduction efforts; and institutional governance and
accountability, with regard to equity, justice and the
distribution of wealth. More information at:   
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressReleasesen.nsf/imf-wb   

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Encounter on overcoming racism today  
28-31 October 2003, Geneva, Switzerland  

This encounter will facilitate the coming together of people
working in programmes against racism, for the rights of People of
African-descent, of Indigenous Peoples, Dalits and Ethnic
minorities. It will be an ecumenical space for about 25
representatives from churches and partners from all over the
world working against racism to share experiences/practices of
combating racism, exchange information, explore strategies for
communication and networking and ways for further co-operation. 

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Consultation on faith, healing and mission   
28-30 October 2003, Santiago de Chile, Chile  

The WCC and the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) will
co-organize this bilingual consultation to better understand the
place and role of the Holy Spirit in mission, and its relation to
the church's healing ministry, especially that of the Pentecostal
Church. Participants, coming primarily from Latin America and the
Caribbean, hope to formulate some common convictions, points of
disagreement and proposals for follow-up at regional and
intercontinental levels.   

Need more advance warning? Check the WCC Media Calendar at:   
www.wcc-coe.org   >  Press Corner  >  Media Calendar	
or directly at	   http://www2.wcc-coe.org/wcccalendar.nsf   

For further information, please contact Juan Michel, WCC media
relations officer, tel: +41 22 791 6153, mobile +41 79 507 6363,
media@wcc-coe.org    

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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, 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, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.