wfn.org | WCC News: Upcoming Events June 2004

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

World Council of Churches 7 Upcoming events
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 24/05/2004 - ev-04-6

 June 2004

 In this issue:
  Religion, power and violence: an inter-religious consultation
  Samuel Kobia to attend church merger in the Netherlands
  Special Commission on Orthodox Participation
  Samuel Kobia to visit the Evangelical Church in Germany

 Religion, power and violence: an inter-religious consultation for
 peace-building
 8-13 June 2004, Ciligny, Switzerland

 The WCC and Bossey Ecumenical Institute have invited thirty participants
 from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Indigenous traditions
 to explore the relationship between religion, power and violence at the
 6th Visser 't Hooft memorial consultation. Participants will seek to
 define responsible ways of exercising power and identify models, resources
 and networks for inter-religious peace-building. They are expected to
 choose topics for a forthcoming academic inter-religious and
 interdisciplinary study on this theme.

 The Visser 't Hooft memorial consultation was initiated in 1993 in memory
 of Dr Willem A. Visser 't Hooft, WCC co-founder and its first general
 secretary. This year's inter-religious consultation builds on the 2002
 Visser 't Hooft memorial consultation, which initiated an interfaith
 dialogue on religion and violence.

 More information on Bossey seminars
 http://www.wcc-coe.org/bossey/seminars-e.html 

 Decade to Overcome Violence
 http://www.overcomingviolence.org/ 

 Visser 't Hooft memorial Ecumenical Leadership Foundation
 http://www.jaysquare.com/resources/index.htm 

 Samuel Kobia joins celebrations as churches unite in the Netherlands
 12 June, Utrecht, the Netherlands

 The WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia will take part in a ceremony
 marking the union of three Protestant churches in the Netherlands. The
 all-day ceremony uniting the Netherlands Reformed Church, the Reformed
 Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the
 Kingdom of the Netherlands will feature an address by Rev. Dr Kobia, a
 special liturgy and several workshops.

 More information in Dutch:
 http://www.kerkinactie.nl/ 

 Media contact: Wisse Hettinga +31 (0) 30 880 1456

 Special Commission on Orthodox Participation: Steering Committee to meet
 15-19 June 2004, Minsk, Belarus

 The Steering Committee of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation
 in the WCC will meet to review the follow-up of the recommendations made
 by the Commission, and begin preparations for the ninth WCC assembly,
 taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2006. Items for discussion
 include the methodology of consensus decision-making, which will replace
 traditional voting beginning with the assembly; membership issues, some of
 which will involve constitutional changes; ecclesiology, focusing mainly
 on a statement prepared by Faith and Order, to be presented to the
 assembly. The Committee will receive information about the ongoing work of
 the Council, especially the preparations for the assembly, and consider
 particularly matters related to Orthodox participation in the life and
 work of the Council.

 Special Commission on Orthodox Participation
 http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/special-01-e.html 

 Samuel Kobia to visit the Evangelical Church in Germany
 28 June - 2 July, Hanover, Germany

 WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit the Evangelical
 Church in Germany (EKD), meeting with Bishop Dr Wolfgang Huber and other
 representatives of the Council of EKD.  During his visit, Dr Kobia will
 also meet members and students of the Ecumenical Institute at the
 University of Heidelberg. The programme of the visit also includes an
 encounter with leaders of several regional churches and EKD members
 involved, among other activities, in WCC work.

 Evangelical Church in Germany
 http://www.ekd.de/english/2169.html 

 Media Contact: Silke Fauzi +49 511 27 96 267, silke.fauzi@ekd.de 

 Unless noted otherwise, events are by invitation only and not open to the
 press or general public. The information above may change without notice.

For more information contact:
	 Media Relations Office
 tel: (+41 22) 791 64 21 / (+41 22) 791 61 53
 e-mail:media@wcc-coe.org 
 http://www.wcc-coe.org 

 The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
 more than 120 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 Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.