wfn.org | Kobia leads World Council of Churches in quest for peace

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May 17, 2004  News media contact: Linda Bloom7(646) 369-37597New York7
E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7ALL-AF-RM-I {205}

NOTE: A photograph of the Rev. Samuel Kobia is available at
http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Bloom*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - The leader of the World Council of Churches believes his
organization can help the United Nations bring peace to troubled regions of
the world.

When the Rev. Samuel Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya, meets with Kofi Annan,
the U.N.'s secretary-general, on May 17, he intends to discuss conflicts in
places such as Sudan, Iraq and the Middle East.

"I want us to look at how the political and moral come together and where we
could complement each other's work," Kobia explained during a May 14 press
conference at the Church Center for the United Nations. He became the chief
executive at the beginning of 2004, after serving the ecumenical body in
other positions over the years.

The World Council of Churches is in the midst of its Decade to Overcome
Violence, which calls churches, ecumenical organizations and people of good
will to embrace creative approaches to peace building; collaborate with local
communities to cultivate a culture of peace; and walk with people
systematically oppressed by violence. The United Methodist Church is an
active member of the council.

Each year, the decade has a different geographical focus. The 2002 focus on
the Middle East, for example, resulted in the establishment of an ecumenical
accompaniment program in Israel and the Palestinian territories. "Each year,
we have no less than 20 to 24 people from around the world who go to Israel
and Palestine just to be there with the people," Kobia said.

In 2003, the focus was on Sudan, where Kobia had been involved in peace talks
since 1991. The conflict there primarily involves an Islamic militia backed
by the government, which is based in the north, and Christian, animist and
more moderate Muslim groups in the Darfur region.

When Kobia met last October with the principal negotiators in Sudan's peace
talks, the discussions gave him reason for optimism. "I had hoped by the end
of last year the comprehensive peace agreement would have been signed," he
said.

Sticking points, he believes, include the status of a contested area in the
oil-rich south; the status of the capital city of Khartoum, which is under
Muslim sharia law; and control over a mountainous area in the north that is
occupied mostly by Christians.

Of most concern, he said, is the situation in the Darfur region. "All
indicators show that this is almost a genocide in the making," Kobia
explained. "We have reports from our contacts on the ground that massacres
are going on."

On May 7, the United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top
legislative body, passed a resolution expressing concern over the
humanitarian crisis in the Sudan, where an estimated 2 million people have
been killed by war and famine and another 5 million displaced during the past
five years.

The resolution deplored the use of government-sponsored violence there and
called upon church agencies, as well as individual members, to monitor the
situation and use all available means to urge an international response to
the crisis. The United Methodist Committee on Relief has established an
emergency fund for Sudanese refugees in Chad.

In 2004, the focus for the Decade to Overcome Violence is on the United
States - in part, because of the nation's historical struggle with violence
and history of nonviolent movements, its enormous global influence and the
role that its churches play in promoting social change.

Through special events and interfaith contacts, the World Council of Churches
is working to promote an understanding of the situations and challenges that
confront U.S. churches as they carry out peace and justice witness;
solidarity with churches in their efforts to overcome violence; and
celebration as a way of supporting peace.

"I'm going to get involved more and more in what the churches and communities
in the United States are doing to overcome violence," Kobia said. He wants to
build on the type of nonviolent approach to conflict advocated by the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr., he said.

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*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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