WCC NEWS: Golden anniversary of the Pacific Conference of Churches

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>World Council of Churches - News

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF THE PACIFIC CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES

>For immediate release: 01 September 2011

In a gala commemoration of a half-century of Christian witness, the
Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has returned to the Malua Theological
College in Samoa where its first representatives assembled in 1961.

Among participants in the opening gathering from the World Council of
Churches (WCC) were the general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, and
WCC executive for youth Faautu Talapusi of Samoa.

The anniversary celebrations stretch from Wednesday 30 August through
Sunday 4 September. The welcoming ceremony featured traditional dancing,
the exchange of gifts and feasting. Speakers for the occasion included
Tveit, pioneers of the ecumenical movement in the Pacific, government
leaders from Samoa and the president of Tahiti.

The need for ever greater unity among Christians was recognized, as well as
for a common engagement in dialogue with representatives of other
religions. Economic, social and environmental issues were discussed in a
part of the world under threat by rising ocean waters that accompany
global climate change.

Particular concern was voiced over an ongoing crackdown by the military
government of Fiji on activities of the Methodist Church of Fiji and
Rotuma.

Leaders of the PCC called on the government to enter a mediated dialogue
process with Methodist Church representatives, and the PCC called on its
members to stand in solidarity with the Methodist Church of Fiji and
Rotuma through prayer and messages of support.

During five decades of decolonization and the establishment of independent
churches, the PCC has grown to include 28 Pacific island member churches
and nine national councils of churches. An estimated 5.2 million people
belong to the churches of the PCC out of a Pacific population totalling 8
million.

Website of the Pacific Conference of Churches (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=159b16f9b395588bb785 )

Read also: WCC calls cancellation of Methodist meeting by Fiji government
"unacceptable" (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=40d73e61f13c5706ffe1
) (WCC press release of 26 August 2011)

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 Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

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