WCC NEWS: A month of health and healing in November

From WCC media <noreply@wcc-coe.org>
Date Tue, 1 Nov 2011 11:30:33 +0100

>World Council of Churches - News

>A MONTH OF HEALTH AND HEALING IN NOVEMBER

>For immediate release: 01 November 2011

A series of Biblical meditations on gender, reproductive and sexual
health is being launched by the World Council of Churches (WCC), inviting
congregations and individual Christians to make November a month of
reflection on health and healing.

"November is that time of year just before Advent when we prepare for our
Saviour coming into the world," says Dr Manoj Kurian, WCC programme
executive for Health and Healing. "It is a time for reflection and
preparation as we invite God into our lives, a time for healing and
transformation."

The WCC Health and Healing programme seeks to support these efforts to
revitalize the church community by offering a reflection on one aspect of
health and healing ahead of each of the four Sundays in November.

Reflections will be looking at stories from the Bible and at the Christian
calling to service in the world.
The reflection for the first week, as well as an overview of the following
weeks, is already available at www.oikoumene.org/health (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=6738de849aadda396445 )

For this first year, the focus of the Month of Health and Healing is on
gender, reproductive and sexual health.

"We chose to start this initiative with a focus on gender and sexuality
because gender inequity has a grave impact on public health as well as on
the church as a healing community of women and men," says Kurian. "Women
and men are equally precious to God, yet religions have in many cases
reinforced the marginalisation of women and girls.

Download the first reflection: Gender inequity and its impact on health:
Created in the image of God (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=9a73953c5e54397f245b
) (pdf, 168 KB)

More information on the WCC work for health and healing (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=be8fef4509823ab83328 )

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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