WCC NEWS: Security and international peace provide focus for WCC consultation

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World Council of Churches - News

SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE FOCUS OF WCC CONSULTATION

For immediate release: 10 February 2012

A consultation on world peace and human security was convened by the
World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on Thursday 9 February. The
event precedes a two-day committee meeting charged with following up the
report and recommendations of the International Ecumenical Peace
Convocation, which brought 1,000 participants to Kingston, Jamaica in May
2011.

The committee will suggest how the topic of just peace may be addressed
during and after the 10th Assembly of the WCC, to be held in 2013 at
Busan, Korea.

In his opening remarks, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
described the three days of discussion as, “not only an important step
in preparing for the assembly, but an essential part of preparing the
WCC's contribution in international affairs over the coming years.”

It must be admitted by people of faith, he continued, that “religion is
not just a solution to war and violence. Too often, it can be part of the
problem.”

The consultation, moderated by Rev. Dr Fernando Enns of the Mennonite
Church in Germany, reviewed the ecumenical movement’s historical
involvement in issues of peace and justice. Members of the discussion
sought to learn from past experience as they weighed churches’ potential
for making a positive impact amid the changing cultural landscape of the
early 21st century.

The day’s principal speakers included former WCC general secretary Rev.
Dr Konrad Raiser, former international affairs director Rev. Dwain Epps
and Kees Nieuwerth, a peace activist and ecologist from the Netherlands.

Read also:

Just peace, prayer and a common witness keep church relevant
(Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=cd820910df8fe74422f1
) (WCC press release of 22 December 2011)

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation website (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=bb854355c95d358d1f09 )

WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=bf743f269ea98016327b )


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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