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World Council of Churches - News Release

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For immediate release - 03/09/2009 17:46:52

WCC CENTRAL COMMITTEE: SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS SHAPE THE FUTURE

The election of a new general secretary for the organization and the  selection of the venue for its next assembly were highlights of the World  Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee meeting that ended yesterday  in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Central Committee, the main governing body of the WCC between  assemblies, issued a series of statements and minutes on wide-ranging  religious, political and social matters important to the Council's member  churches. Issues of governance and finances were also discussed.

The WCC is a fellowship of 349 churches in more than 110 countries. Member  churches ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches.html )include most  of the world's Orthodox churches as well as Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran,  Methodist, Reformed, united and independent churches. Their combined  membership represents more than 560 million Christians.

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann ( http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4211 ), moderator  of the Central Committee, said at a closing press conference that despite  the heavy agenda he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. "It  strengthened the witness of the churches and the expression of the  fellowship of churches."

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia ( http://www.oikoumene.org/? id=4209 )echoed Altmann's sense of the meeting saying: "There was a very  observable way of living out the fellowship of the WCC beyond business, in  worship, interaction and the way Central Committee members upheld each  other."

>General secretary-elect

Norwegian theologian and pastor Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit ( http://www.oikou mene.org/?id=6908 ), 48, was elected 7th general secretary of the WCC (  http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/olav-fy kse-tveit-elected.html ). He will be succeeding outgoing general secretary  Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, who completes his tenure at the end of 2009. Tveit  will be the youngest general secretary since Willem A. Visser 't Hooft who  had led the WCC while it was in process of formation and following its  founding assembly 61 years ago. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/new s/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/the-new-agenda-unity-rem.html )

>10th Assembly venue

The city of Busan, Republic of Korea, was chosen as venue for the WCC 10th  Assembly ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1 634/wcc-10th-assembly-to-take.html )in 2013. The host region is eager to  welcome the event. "It is a really great joy to be able to invite the WCC  Assembly to Korea," said Rev. Dr Park Jong-wha, chair of the international  committee of the National Council of Churches in South Korea. He expressed  hope that the WCC's presence could "contribute greatly toward peaceful  reconciliation and reunification" for the divided peninsula. The WCC  Central Committee also established an assembly planning committee. Read  more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/ korea-stands-ready-to-wel.html )

>Programmes and finances

The Central Committee reviewed the WCC's programmatic work and expressed  appreciation for the work done since its last meeting. Acknowledging the  unsustainability of the programmes as presently organized, the committee  recommended that programmes should be restructured. Instead of reducing  activities across the board, it stressed the need for prioritization and a  more modest, limited and sustainable approach to programme work. Among the  prioritization criteria it recommended a focus on the unique contribution  of the WCC as a global fellowship of churches.

A number of recommendations related to the 2010 budget were adopted. "We  anticipate further reductions in contributions in the last half of 2009,"  said Dean Anders Gadegaard, the moderator of the Central Committee finance  committee. Gadegaard believes further reductions in 2010 income could be  in the range of 5-10 percent. The 2010 budget presently stands at 35.5  million Swiss francs. Final approval for the 2010 budget would come at the  February 2010 Executive Committee meeting. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene .org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-budget-takes-into-acc.h tml )

>Statements on public issues

The WCC Central Committee passed a series of public statements and  minutes:

Pakistan's blasphemy law. The committee called on the government of  Pakistan to "guarantee the rights of all religious minorities in the  country". It also stated that Pakistan's Blasphemy Law has become "a major  source of victimization and persecution" of religious minorities who are  living "in a state of fear and terror". Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.or g/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/pakistan-blasphemy-law-m.html  )

Israeli settlements. The committee called on the Israeli government to  freeze and begin to dismantle settlements in the occupied Palestinian  territories. It also encouraged a commitment to non-violence and peace  negotiations, and reiterated the need for an international boycott of  products and services from settlements. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.or g/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-calls-to-freeze-and-d.html  )

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The committee urged the WCC member  churches "to publicly condemn violence against women" in the DRC. It urged  all parties to the conflict to put an end to all acts of sexual violence  and called on the government "to end impunity for rape and to evolve  effective strategies to combat sexual violence". Read more ( http://www.oik oumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-condemns-sexual-v iole.html )

Caste-based discrimination. The committee called on the WCC member  churches to "recognize that the continued discrimination and exclusion of  millions of people on the basis of caste" is a "serious challenge to the  credibility of their witness to their faith in God". Up to 260 million  people worldwide are considered as "untouchable" by their own societies,  contradicting the Christian belief that all are created equal in the image  of God. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/ article/1634/caste-based-discriminatio.html )

Just finance and the economy of life.The committee noted that the global  financial system has "enriched some people but has harmed many more,  creating poverty, unemployment, hunger and death" and "widening the gap  between rich and poor". It called on member churches "not to retreat from  their prophetic role," and proposed "new indicators of progress" for the  economy. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a /article/1634/wcc-says-economy-needs-n.html )

Darfur, Sudan. The committee condemned "the mass atrocities committed  against innocent civilians in Darfur". It urged the government of Sudan  "to assume full responsibility for the protection of its citizens"  regardless of ethnicity or other affiliation and to "allow uninterrupted  humanitarian assistance to reach all suffering people in Darfur". Read  more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/ wcc-makes-new-call-for-pe.html )

Eco-justice and ecological debt. The committee stated that Christians have  a moral obligation to promote ecological justice. The ecological debt is  primarily owed by Northern industrialized countries to countries of the  South on account of historical and current resource-plundering, environment al degradation and the dumping of greenhouse gases and toxic wastes. Read  more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/ statement-on-eco-justice.html )

Seeking a nuclear-weapon-free world.The committee called on churches to  take advantage of several promising opportunities in the coming year to  advocate for a world without nuclear weapons. It called on states with  nuclear weapons to advance towards "the total elimination of their nuclear  arsenals" and invited churches to support governments in creating regional  nuclear weapon-free zones. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/new s-management/eng/a/article/1634/seeking-a-nuclear-weapon.html )

Anti-Christian violence. The committee challenged WCC member churches to  hear the cries of all "sisters and brothers in Christ enduring violence,  threat and intimidation", to act in "costly solidarity" with them and to  challenge governments to protect the lives of their citizens. It also  noted a decline of religious freedom in many parts of the world and an  increase of religious intolerance. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/ news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-calls-for-solidarity.html )

Conscientious objection to military service.The committee reiterated the  WCC support for the right of conscientious objection and called on member  churches to "uphold the right of refusal to bear and use arms" wherever  possible. In many places churches observe challenges to the exercise of  this right, which allows those whose conscience prohibits them from  military service to engage in alternate means of service. Read more (  http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-uph olds-right-to-refu.html )

Church-government dialogue in Fiji.The committee urged the Methodist  Church in Fiji and Rotuma to engage in dialogue with the interim government  of Fiji. It commended the church for its careful and measured response to  the actions taken against it by the interim government, which came to  power following a military coup in December 2006 and has banned some  church activities, arresting nine Methodist ministers. Read more (  http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/minute- on-the-situation-f.html )

>Governance issues

A substantial document on governance issues was discussed by the WCC  Central Committee, including its own role and that of the executive  committee, as well as the relationship of the general secretary to these  committees and the WCC officers and presidents. The document stated the  need for efficient, flexible and vision-focused governance. It also  addressed issues of accountability and staff policy.

>Farewell to Samuel Kobia

While Kobia will continue as WCC general secretary through the end of  2009, the Central Committee bid farewell to him and his wife Ruth at a  prayer service at the Ecumenical Centre and a celebration at the Ecumenical  Institute in Bossey, near Geneva. Both the service and celebration had a  distinct international flavour with songs from a variety of cultures, and  languages from Aramaic to Swahili. Read more ( http://www.oikoumene.org/en/ news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-central-committee-bid.html )

More information on the WCC Central Committee meeting:
http://www.oikoumene.org/cc2009

Free high resolution photos are available:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/cc2009/photo-galleries.html

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363media@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 349 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.