wfn.org | Attendance at WCC assembly swells to 5000

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

Reply-To: wfn-news list <wfn-news@wfn.org>
4-December-1998 
 
Ecumenical News International 
ENI News Service 
3 December 1998 
 
Attendance at WCC assembly swells to 5000 
ENI-98-0547 
 
By Jerry Van Marter 
Harare, 3 December (ENI)--As the eighth assembly of the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) opened in Harare today, attendance seems to have reached 
5000, though 
technical problems are making it impossible for assembly officials to 
calculate exact attendance. 
 
Jean Stromberg, the WCC's assembly coordinator, told reporters at the 
assembly's first press conference today that the attendance was "an 
overwhelming and happy 
surprise". Stromberg told ENI she hoped to have accurate final figures "in 
a couple of days". 
 
According to documents, about 960 delegates will represent the 332 member 
churches of the WCC.  Early estimates indicate that about 35 per cent of 
them are women and 
15 per cent are classified as "youth". 
 
More than 4 000 people registered yesterday 2 December at the University of 
Zimbabwe campus, where the assembly is being held. 
 
About 300 people have been accredited by the WCC and by the Zimbabwe 
government as media representatives. In today's press conference, 
journalists put questions to 
WCC officials about the WCC's relationship with its Orthodox church 
members, with the Roman Catholic Church, which is not a member, with 
indigenous  African churches, some of which are 
members, and on the issue of homosexuality, which is not on the assembly's 
agenda but will be a 
subject of 12 out of the 500-plus workshops and displays at the assembly's 
"Padare"  - a 
Zimbabwean word meaning meeting place which opens on 7 December. 
 
More than 1000 women and about 30 men attended the pre-assembly festival to 
mark the conclusion of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with 
Women, 
and 400 young people attended the pre-assembly Youth Conference. [280 
words] 
 
 
 
All articles (c) Ecumenical News International 
Reproduction permitted only by media subscribers and 
provided ENI is acknowledged as the source. 
 
Ecumenical News International 
Tel: (41-22) 791 6087/6515 Fax: (41-22) 798 1346 
E-Mail: eni@eni.ch 
PO Box 2100   150 route de Ferney   CH-1211 Geneva 2   Switzerland 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  This note sent by PCUSA NEWS
  to the wfn-news list <wfn-news@wfn.org>.
  Send unsubscribe requests to wfn-news-request@wfn.org