wfn.org | WCC UPDATE: 2005 crucial year for church advocacy

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>>> WCC Media <media@wcc-coe.org> 11/22/04 12:36PM >>>
World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 22/11/2004

WCC ADVOCACY WEEK: 2005 WILL BE A CRUCIAL YEAR FOR CHURCH ADVOCACY

Photos available free of charge, see below

Cf. WCC press update PU-04-64 of 19 November 2004
Cf. WCC press update PU-04-62 of 18 November 2004
Cf. WCC press update PU-04-61 of 17 November 2004
Cf. WCC press update PU-04-60 of 16 November 2004
Cf . WCC press release PR-04-56 of 11 November 2004

With Sudan and Iraq dominating the headlines and important review processes
on the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, UN reform and the Millennium
Development Goals on the international agenda, churches throughout the world
will have a critical role to play in advocacy in 2005. 

That was the prevailing assessment of a World Council of Churches' (WCC)
International Affairs and Advocacy Week that ended on Friday 19 November
2004. The Week underscored that now, more than ever before, the role of
religion in politics and international affairs demands the attention and
action of the churches. 

"By emphasizing fundamental ethics and humanity, by giving voice to the
voiceless, by focusing on inclusiveness and a deeper sense of hope, by
highlighting the importance of the meeting of cultures, by being ecumenical,
religion will make a much-needed and constructive contribution to our
societies," said WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
(CCIA) director Peter Weiderud during one of the Week's final sessions. 

Participants were key leaders in arena of international affairs from around
the world - people engaged in bringing forgotten conflicts to the forefront
of church attention and raising awareness among church members on
international affairs, opening dialogue with national political leaders, and
promoting hope for a world of real peace and justice. 

A full programme of events taking place in New York City offered them an
opportunity for vital information-sharing, solidarity and strategizing - for
the work of the CCIA as well as for advocacy work at the local, national and
regional levels being done by churches around the world. Public seminars at
the UN were an opportunity for church leaders, experts in international
affairs and people from broader civil society to dialogue on current events
and issues. 

The programme also offered a place in which "to express the cries of people
in my own country and to hear from others who are part of the universal
struggle for peace and justice," said Welly Esau Mandowen of West Papua,
Indonesia. 

For Jitka Krausova, the general secretary of the Ecumenical Council of
Churches in the Czech Republic, the Week was an opportunity for direct
contact with the important and relevant work that WCC/CCIA is doing, and
provided opportunities for her to learn how WCC member churches in the Czech
Republic can support churches in struggles for peace and justice around the
world.

"I had lost hope in advocacy in our critical situations in the Middle East,
because it seems that the superpowers throw all of our best efforts away.
When I hear from this group of churches and people committed to being people
of hope, I am learning how advocacy can be effective. We can not give up,"
said the associate general Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches,
Rev. Dr Nuhad Tomeh. 

"The UN Advocacy Week helps us create a roadmap of possibilities for actions
and efforts in the coming year," said Ms Sharon Bradshaw of the Caribbean
Conference of Churches. 

Hearing about the perseverance of many church leaders and workers dealing
with long-standing conflicts in Colombia, Israel and Palestine, Sudan,
Somalia, Liberia and Zimbabwe was inspiring. Keeping hope alive throughout
such trying times is a major challenge. During the Week, participants heard
evidence that some of these processes have taken a positive turn, which has
led to greater solidarity in the global ecumenical movement, and increased
support for the difficult work that still lies ahead. 

"Without being paralyzed by the realities of the world, we as churches are
called to offer hope and promise as well as a call to repentance, on the
basis of the Gospel. We must continue with the ecumenical movement's
commitment to promoting a just, peaceful, participatory and sustainable world
order," concluded Peter Weiderud at the Week's closing reception.

Media contact person: Dr Laurence Konmla Bropleh, permanent representative,
WCC UN Liaison Office, tel: 1 212- 867 5891, Mobile: 1 202 258 4166 email:
lbr@wcc-coe.org 

Information on the 2004 WCC Advocacy Week is available at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/advocweek04.html

More information on the work of the WCC UN Liaison Office (UNLO) in New York
is available at
http://www.wcc-un.org 

Photos from the 14-19 November International Advocacy Week are available on
our website at:
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/advocweek-photos.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.