wfn.org | WCC NEWS : Upcoming Events July 2004

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

World Council of Churches 7 Upcoming events
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 21/06/2004 - ev-04-7

July 2004

 In this issue:
   Women in solidarity with Sudan
   Samuel Kobia to visit Hong Kong, Australia, Fiji
   Faith and Order Plenary Commission

Women in solidarity with Sudan
 1-7 July, Khartoum, Sudan

 The WCC and the All Africa Council of Churches will send a delegation of
 five women from around the world to visit churches, community centres and
 women's groups in and around Khartoum. This visit, following the 2003
 Sudan focus of the Decade to Overcome Violence and hosted by the Sudan
 Council of Churches, is part of an ongoing series of solidarity visits to
 women in conflict situations.

 WCC work with women
 http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/women.html 

Samuel Kobia to visit churches in Hong Kong
 5-7 July, Hong Kong, China

 WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit churches in Hong
 Kong, the headquarters of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the
 Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC). While in Hong Kong, Rev. Kobia will
 meet with church leaders to address issues of inter-religious relations in
 Asia and attend events related to the year-long celebrations of the 50th
 anniversary of the HKCC.

Samuel Kobia to attend triennial national forum, Australia
 8-11 July, Adelaide, Australia

 In an upcoming visit to Australia, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel
 Kobia will attend the 2004 triennial national forum of the National
 Council of Churches in Australia. During his visit, he will meet with the
 leaders of WCC member churches in Australia, spend time with Australian
 aboriginal communities and visit a refugee detention centre.

Samuel Kobia to meet church leaders in Fiji
 12-15 July, Nadi, Fiji

 WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will meet leaders of WCC member
 and non-member churches to discuss current challenges to ecumenism and the
 role of churches in the Pacific.  As a first step to addressing these
 challenges, Dr Kobia will hear from HIV/AIDS-positive people and visit
 church-related NGOs, regional ecumenical organizations and political
 leaders in the region.

 Media contact in Fiji:
 Fe'iloakitau Kaho Tevi, tel: +679 331 7509, mobile: +679 992 5935,
 fkt@wcc-coe.org 

 Faith and Order Plenary Commission
 28 July - 6 August, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 The Faith and Order Plenary Commission, a 76-year-old body referred to as
 the most comprehensive theological forum in Christendom, will bring
 together approximately 150 members of the clergy and laity as well as
 scholars, youth and outside observers under the theme "Receive one another
 as Christ has received you, to the glory of God" Romans 15:7. The Faith
 and Order Commission is comprised of clergy, laypersons, scholars and
 church leaders from around the world, and its membership includes the
 Roman Catholic Church.

 Introduction to the Faith and Order Commission
 http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/whatis-e.html 

 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.