wfn.org | Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches bring own perspectives to

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Note #6523 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

national and regional launches
9-May-2001
01165

Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches bring own perspectives to national and
regional launches

WCC program taking off on several continents 

by Diana Mavunduse
WCC Media Relations Office

GENEVA - The international launch of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV)
took place on Feb. 4, 2001 in Berlin, Germany, during the World Council of
Churches' (WCC) Central Committee meeting.

	The WCC's 1998 assembly in Zimbabwe had called on all people of goodwill to
work together to overcome violence, and the Council's member churches had
committed themselves to a pilgrimage of peace.

	In response to this call, and in light of realities in different regions
throughout the world, churches are launching the DOV from their own
perspectives and contexts. Since February, launches have taken place in
several countries and regions, and preparations are going ahead in other
places.

	For instance, U.S. churches held a national conference on April 23-24 in
Nashville, Tenn., that served as a spiritual preparation for their
participation in the Decade.

	And in Germany, the city of Braunschweig - Peace to the City Network
partner - programmed "their" DOV launch for May 19, 2001.

	In Bern, Switzerland, 30 participants attended a consultation on the Decade
organized by the Swiss Protestant Church. Via biblical reflections on
violence, the April 26 consultation attempted to determine the role of the
Swiss churches in the DOV process. It challenged the churches to come up
with concrete strategies to overcome violence.

	Two major concerns were raised: violence against women, and violence
against children. Participants noted with concern the lack of participation
by the younger generation and agreed to try to integrate youth into work on
the Decade. The Swiss DOV launch is planned for later this year.

	In Africa, the Fellowhip of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa
(FECCIWA) is launching the Decade on June 3, 2001. That date coincides with
a peace forum scheduled for May 31-June 2, designed to help churches search
for effective strategies against violence in this sub-region.

	Meanwhile, the Fellowship of Christian Council of Churches in the Great
Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA) launched the Decade on March
24, 2001. The Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda, Leticia Mary Mukasa
Kikonyongo, opened the ceremony in Kampala, Uganda and about 800 people
attended.

	After decades of rampant conflict and war coupled with chronic drought,
among other horrendous misfortunes, this region is in desperate need of
peace and justice, equality, stability and good governance. With hundreds of
thousands of children and women - the most victimized sector of the
population - living in dehumanizing circumstances, there is need to
constructively redress the situation. Conflicts that arise because of
negative ethnic assertiveness and the struggle over scarce basic resources,
such as land and water, must be resolved.

	The FECCLAHA launch coincided with a two-day (March 22-23) meeting in
Kampala of the Global Ecumenical Forum on "Overcoming Violence: A Challenge
to the Churches," organized by FECCLAHA. This meeting agreed to focus on the
plight of the Sudanese people and the devastating war that has displaced
people, separated families and forced young people into slavery and the army
in Southern Sudan.

	Religious fundamentalism on the one hand, and economic exploitation on the
other, was identified as key factors perpetuating war in the region.
"Africa's poverty and misery are not due to the fact that we are poor, but
rather to the fact that the continent is being looted and impoverished from
inside and outside," said Peter Kanyandago, vice chancellor of the Catholic
University in Uganda. Other issues of concern identified were small arms
trafficking, debt cancellation, child soldiers and HIV/AIDS.

	More information concerning the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) is
available on the DOV website:  www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/dov/launches-e.html.

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