World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org For immediate release - 20/02/2008 05:50:30 PM
SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR A NEW WCC GENERAL SECRETARY BEGINS ITS
WORK
[Free photos available, see below]
Presided by an African woman, with a membership that includes three youth, eight women, four Orthodox and a strong representation from the South, the search committee for a new World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary has already begun to work.
The 18-member search committee was appointed by the WCC central committee late evening on 19 February. The committeeâs task is to screen candidates for the position of WCC general secretary. The current general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, announced earlier at the 13-20 February central committee meeting that he would not seek an extension to his term, which ends 31 December 2008.
Ten of the search committee members were elected by the central committee through paper ballots. The member receiving the most votes, Dr Agnes Abuom, was appointed as its moderator. The executive committee proposed six more members under procedures designed to provide for regional, gender, church tradition and age balances. The two vice-moderators of the central committee serve as ex-officio members. [See a list of the committee members below.]
Some concerns were registered at the session in which the search committee slate was approved. One of them referred to the fact that 10 out of its 18 members are also members of the executive committee, which was perceived as a possible concentration of power. Another concern referred to the composition of the Orthodox representation, which lacked representatives from Slavonic Orthodoxy.
Next steps
Before Kobia ends his term as general secretary in December, an acting general secretary will be appointed by the WCC executive committee at its meeting in September 2008. The acting general secretary will assume office as from 1 January 2009 until the new general secretary elected by the WCC central committee at its meeting in September 2009 takes office, likely by the end of 2009.
âDr Kobia has our full support to carry on his duties until the end of his termâ, said WCC central committee moderator Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, speaking at a press conference on 19 February.
At the last session of the meeting, the moderator reiterated the heartfelt gratitude of the central committee for Kobia's services to the Council. "My commitment to the WCC and the ecumenical movement is constant", Kobia said at that session. "Ecumenism is in my blood and bones, and whatever I do next it will be a continuation of what I have done over many years", he added.
The search committee met for the first time on the evening of 19 February, after the WCC central committee invoked Godâs guidance for its work. At its first meeting the search committee looked at its work guidelines and at the job description for the general secretary position, which will be revised in consultation with central committee members. The central committee approved a timetable for the process.
After a thorough screening of candidates, the search committee should submit ideally one name to the WCC central committee for approval. At the most recent election of a WCC general secretary the search committee submitted two names and the central committee decided by vote.
The search committee members are:
Dr Agnes Abuom (moderator), Anglican Church of Kenya Justice Sophia O.A. Adinyira, Church of the Province of West Africa, Ghana Bishop Nareg Alemezian, Armenian Apostolic Church (See of Cilicia), Lebanon Bishop Samuel Robert Azariah, Church of Pakistan Rev. Dr Moiseraele Prince Dibeela, United Congregational Church of Southern Africa Bishop Sally Dyck, United Methodist Church, US Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Turkey Ms Anne Glynn-Mackoul, Greek Orthodox Patr iarchate of Antioch and All the East, US Ms Margareta Grape, Church of Sweden Rev. Gregor Henderson, Uniting Church in Australia Rev. Dr Margaretha M. Hendriks-Ririmasse, Gereja Protestan Maluku, Indonesia Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, United Church of Canada Rev. Sanele Faasua Lavatai, Methodist Church of Samoa Mr Graham Gerald McGeoch, Church of Scotland Mr Itayi Ndudzo, Methodist Church in Zimbabwe Archbishop Dr Nifon of Targoviste, Romanian Orthodox Church Rev. Dr Ofelia Ortega SuÃrez, Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba Bishop Dr Martin SchindehÃtte, Evangelical Church in Germany
Two substitutes were also appointed: Ms Outi Vasko, Orthodox Church of Finland Rev. Carlos Duarte, Iglesia EvangÃlica del Rio de la Plata, Uruguay
Committee members by categories:
Africa: 4 Asia: 3 Europe: 3 North America: 2 Pacific: 1 Caribbean: 1 Latin America: 0 Eastern Orthodox: 3 Oriental Orthodox: 1
Women: 8 Youth: 3
More information on the central committee meeting: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/cc2008.html
Free high resolution photos are available:
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/photo-galleries/central-committee-2008/
Additional information: Juan Michel +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
WCC ID:
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