wfn.org | Church leaders have much to contribute to African unity

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release 02-24
For Immediate Use
12 September 2002

Church leaders have much to contribute to African unity

"Promoting church and ecumenical leadership is an essential part of 
reconstructing Africa... African leaders themselves recognize that the 
unity of the churches is an essential part of the search for African 
unity," says World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr 
Konrad Raiser.

The planners of a pan-African conference called "Journey of Hope in Africa 
Continued", are in full agreement. "Our churches potentially have much to 
contribute to building a just, sustainable and creative future for Africa," 
says Rev. Dr Nyambura  Njoroge of the WCC Education and Ecumenical 
Formation team. "The development of new ecumenical leadership is vital for 
the continent as well as for its churches".

Meeting in Johannesburg 16-23 September for a "a critical evaluation of 
theological education and ecumenical formation", nearly one hundred church 
educators, church and ecumenical leaders from over 25 countries will try to 
answer questions like: "What have we done in the past 50 years to prepare 
and equip youth, women and men for leadership?" "How have we erred, and how 
can we correct our past mistakes?"  "What resources did we use, and what 
resources can we use today?"

This is the first pan-African conference of its kind. As such, it responds 
to a call at the WCC's eighth Assembly (Harare, 1998) to member churches to 
place a special focus on Africa. It is being hosted by the South African 
Council of Churches in close cooperation with the WCC.

"Leadership formation must use new approaches to break through the 
religious and cultural barriers between people and enable them to learn 
with and from each other. Theological education must engage with poverty, 
HIV/AIDS, and all the related issues," says Njoroge.

.../...

Referring to his travels in Africa over the past six years, "Assistance in 
the formation of ecumenical leadership probably tops African church 
leaders' agendas," Raiser says.  "We are now dealing with a generation of 
church leaders	for whom the former mission partners are more familiar than 
the WCC, and who have had minimal ecumenical exposure," he notes.

The conference, to be held in the Kempton Park Conference Centre in 
Johannesburg, will draw up a plan of action for the next ten years.

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office, tel: 
+41 (0)22 791 64 21

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, 
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, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by 
general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: media@wcc-coe.org
Web: www.wcc-coe.org

PO Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
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