wfn.org | Solidarity with Uprooted

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World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
26 February 1997

WCC GENERAL SECRETARY TO PREACH AT GLOBAL LAUNCH OF
YEAR TO PROMOTE SOLIDARITY WITH UPROOTED PEOPLE

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, General Secretary of the World Council of
Churches (WCC), will preach at a special service to launch the 1997
Ecumenical Year of Churches in Solidarity with Uprooted People.

The WCC called for this special year at its meeting in September 1995
when it also adopted a landmark statement, *A Moment to Choose:
Risking to be with Uprooted People*.  This statement emphasised the
concern of WCC member churches for refugees, internally displaced
persons and migrants.  It also encouraged active church responses to
the many dilemmas facing uprooted people.  The statement identified the
causes and consequences of the forced displacement of people and
made recommendations for action.

Earlier this month, the WCC published a resource book on the topic which
is intended for all who wish to understand the causes and
consequences of the forced displacement of people.

Throughout the world, national and regional initiatives are being taken to
promote the Ecumenical Year of Churches in Solidarity with Uprooted
People.

The global launch in Geneva will take the form of a worship service in
the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre followed by an official reception. 
The service, at which Dr Raiser will preach, begins at 1630hrs on
Tuesday, 4 March.

Church congregations throughout Geneva have been invited to the
service.  Representatives of Geneva-based NGOs have been invited to
the reception;  they are, of course, welcome to attend the worship
service if they wish.

WCC President, Rev. Eunice Santana from Puerto Rico, will speak at the
reception.

Ms Santana is in Geneva for the annual meeting of the Global Ecumenical
Network of Uprooted People which immediately preceeds the global
launch.

Journalists wishing to speak to experts on issues concerning uprooted
peoples are encouraged to contact members of the Global Ecumenical
Network for interviews.

Contact:  Joel McClellan, Consultant, WCC Refugee and Migration
Service, tel: (+41.22) 791.63.23.

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 330, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798 13 46
E-Mail: jwn@wcc-coe.org

P.O. Box 2100
CH-1211 Geneva 2