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WCC NEWS: Bolivia: Kobia proposes ecumenical agenda


From "WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>
Date Sun, 07 Nov 2004 04:02:18 +0100

World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org 
For immediate release - 06/11/2004

WCC GENERAL SECRETARY VISITS CHURCHES WITH INDIGENOUS FACE:
PROPOSALS FOR A BOLIVIAN ECUMENICAL AGENDA

					   Free photos available, see below

Religion as a source of identity open to dialogue, coming to terms with a
history of oppression and how churches contribute to building a nation were
the issues that WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia suggested for
the Bolivian ecumenical agenda.

In a series of meetings in La Paz with church and society representatives
in his first visit to this Andean nation, Kobia also had the opportunity to
witness the significant role of the churches in Bolivian society. At the
same time, he emphasized that the spirituality of indigenous people has a
great deal to contribute to the western cosmovision.

>>> Identity, history and participation

The suggested issues for the Bolivian ecumenical agenda were analyzed in a
meeting with representatives from the Bolivian Ecumenical Commission which
includes WCC members churches in the country - the Evangelical Methodist
Church in Bolivia (IEMB) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bolivia
(IELB) - as well as the Anglican, Methodist Pentecostal and Roman Catholic
churches.

"Our ecumenical identity is at stake in Bolivia," affirmed Pastor Rolando
Villena, IEMB bishop emeritus. In a context of crisis where different
regional interests threaten to divide the country and where some sectors of
the population survive on a little more than US$ 0.10 a day, Villena
underlined that the Ecumenical Commission's objective is to "modestly
contribute to a culture of dialogue," integrating "Christian identity in
the Bolivian identity in formation."

The next Constituent Assembly in the country was identified as a historic
opportunity in this process, as well as for the design of a new country
model without social exclusion and with a more just distribution of wealth.

Kobia suggested that the issue of identity should form part of the Bolivian
ecumenical agenda and emphasized the need for identities that are open to
dialogue and to recognition of the other, as opposed to defensive and
excluding identities.

Similarly, he suggested the theme of coming to terms regarding the past,
including processes of historic domination and alienation where Churches
were not absent, as another possible agenda item.

The decisive importance of speaking with a joint voice was emphasized by
Kobia when he suggested the third and final item on the agenda: the way
that churches contribute to the construction of the nation. This
contribution could include a decisive and common participation of churches
through the education of their membership in preparation for the
Constituent Assembly.

The urgent need to address these issues was emphasized by the head of the
Dialogue Secretariat of the Bolivian Bishops' Conference Moisis Morales.

>>> The challenge of inculturation

According to the presiding bishop of the IEMB Carlos Inti Pampa, "the
greatest challenge that Bolivian churches face is to proclaim an integral
and inculturated Gospel, so that God is manifested in the concrete reality
and the cultural context of the country."

Kobia's visit coincided with the All Saint's Day fest, of enormous
importance in local indigenous tradition. The WCC general secretary had the
opportunity to participate in a ceremony to remember the deceased in a
cemetery in Kheasqapa, some 150 kilometers from the capital. The Christian
ceremony also included some elements of indigenous spirituality.

"In Africa we also have a great deal of respect for our ancestors," Kobia
told members of the IELB in Calasaya, some 60 kilometers from La Paz. "This
respect makes us all part of the same family and roots us in the earth from
which we come, it is what makes us a people," he said.

The process involving the inculturation of the Gospel in indigenous
spiritual traditions in the country could make a significant contribution
to the debate on Gospel and culture, affirmed Kobia later. Both member
churches of the Council in this country are constituted by a majority of
members that belong to the Aymara and Quecha peoples.

The memory of IELB Pastor Humberto Ramos who died in a car accident October
7 along with three other members of the church was very present throughout
the visit. Kobia committed his prayers and support for Pastor Juan Miguel
Parrapo, current vice president of the church who will assume the
presidency on November 7.

Together with the two WCC member Churches in the country - IEMB and IELB -
the Methodist Pentecostal Church, the Presbyterian Church and the Union of
Aymara Baptist Churches also participated in activities related to the
visit.

>>> Before society

The role of the churches in society was one of the key themes during the
visit.

In the Legislative Palace, Kobia and representatives from local churches
met with senators and congress representatives. Kobia heard testimony about
the different types of grassroots resistance to the neoliberal economic
model and expressed the willingness of the churches to contribute to the
healing, reconciliation and forgiveness processes. Aymara Senator Esteban
Silvestre Clares recalled that when he was persecuted together with other
members of indigenous agrarian unions he found refuge and protection in the
Methodist Church.

During a meeting with Kobia and local church leaders, Ombudsman Waldo
Albarracmn also recognized the work of the WCC member churches in human
rights defense during the dictatorships. Albarracmn emphasized the need and
potential for mutual cooperation in the current stage.

The WCC general secretary's Latin American visit will continue in Brazil
(Brasilia, Salvador, Porto Alegre), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Uruguay
(Montevideo) and Chile (Santiago).

A detailed program of the visit is available at:
www.wcc-coe.org > Press Corner > Visit to Latin America

Free high resolution photos are available at:
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/l-a-visit04.html 

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153  +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org 

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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.


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