From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


WCC UPDATE: Kobia in Chile: Pentecostal participation is key


From "WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>
Date Wed, 24 Nov 2004 12:57:36 +0100

World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 24/11/2004

PENTECOSTAL PARTICIPATION IN THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT - KEY ISSUE FOR WCC
GENERAL SECRETARY IN CHILE

Free photos available, see below

The valuable contribution of Pentecostal churches to the ecumenical movement
was emphasized by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr
Samuel Kobia during his recent visit to Chile, November 19-20. 

"Through a new openness to ecumenism, the dynamism and energy of
Pentecostalism can significantly enrich the search for unity among Christian
churches," said Kobia after meeting with a group of bishops and pastors
representing Chilean Pentecostal churches. 

Over the course of the meeting, Kobia emphasized the importance of the
Pentecostal contribution while underlining the need for the ecumenical
movement to be firmly rooted in a solid spirituality. He also invited the
represented churches to participate in the preparation process and in the WCC
Assembly to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006. 

Without denying that division is an ever present reality, meeting
participants emphasized signs of a closer relationship, such as the joint
celebration this year of the 95th anniversary of Chilean Pentecostalism.
However, they also recognized that there is a great deal to be done. We are a
diverse church but one that seeks reconciliation under the illumination and
guidance of the Holy Spirit, said one of the participants. 

The theme of the WCC Assembly - God, in your Grace, transform the world - and
the invitation to participate, as well as the emphasis Kobia placed on the
role of young people during the event were welcomed by participants in the
meeting. 

Together with the WCC general secretary, meeting participants included
representatives form the Pentecostal Church of Chile, the Pentecostal Mission
Church, the Free Pentecostal Mission Church of Chile, three WCC member
churches. Other participants included representatives from the Methodist
Pentecostal Church, the Communion of Brothers, the Universal Apostolic
Mission, the Ebenezer Pentecostal Church and Filadelfia, the House of Youth. 

Prior to the meeting and at the invitation of bishop Ulises Muqoz, Kobia
preached during a special worship service celebrated in the cathedral of the
Pentecostal Church of Chile in Curico, some 190 kilometers from Santiago. 

>>> An unequal society 

Another issue that stood out in the meeting was concern about the poverty
affecting Chilean society. While the economy grows, poverty and extreme
poverty are far from being eliminated, said participants. "Few crumbs fall
from the table of the lords," one of them said. 

The same issue had emerged in previous meetings that Kobia held with
representatives from WCC member churches and ecumenical organizations. The
reality of an economic growth that is not accompanied by an adequate
distribution of wealth is something that participants spoke strongly about. 

"The trickle down theory is false," said Manuel Ossa, of the Diego Medellmn
Center. 

"They want to show us that everything is fine in Chile, but those of us who
work in the poor neighborhoods know it isn't so," said Rev. Gloria Rojas,
president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile. 

The "scandalous" disparities between the rich and poor in Chile were also
recognized by the minister mecretary general of the presidency Eduardo
Dockendorff, who made time to meet with the WCC secretary in the midst of a
tight schedule due to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) that
was taking place in Santiago. 

The minister added, however, that the Chilean government managed to stop the
growth of this gap and that poverty has declined by 50% since 1990. 

>>> Memory park

A highly significant moment in Kobia's activities in Chile was a visit to
Villa Grimaldi, a clandestine detention center used during the Pinochet
dictatorship. 

The visit took place just as the country is awaiting publication of the
report from the National Commission on Political Detention and Torture, a
commission created by the president. The report, based on close to 30,000
testimonies of torture, is expected to contain harsh revelations about what
took place during the military regime. 

Located outside Santiago, the property, which is now a "Memory Park," was the
main center of operations of the Metropolitan Intelligence Brigade. It is
calculated that some 4,500 to 5,000 people passed through the center while it
operated between 1973 and 1978.

"This was an extermination center," said Rodrigo del Villar, a survivor who
was illegally detained in the center for 12 days in January 1975. Together
with Hernan Plaza, another survivor who was detained there for a month in
February 1975, they gave the WCC general secretary a tour and explained how
Villa Grimaldi operated. 

"The stories we have heard here help understand how inhuman human beings can
be," said Kobia, who manifested his hope that what happened there "never
happens again here or anywhere".

Toward the end of his visit to Chile, the WCC general secretary met with
Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago Msgr. Sergio Abad, of the Orthodox
Patriarchate of Antioch. The two men spoke about issues such as Christian
emigration from Palestine and the status of Jerusalem. 

Free high resolution photos are available in: 
www.wcc-coe.org > Press Corner > Latin America visit

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

Sign up for WCC press releases at
http://onlineservices.wcc-coe.org/pressnames.nsf

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.


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home