wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Poverty and weapons of mass destruction in same

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Note #8511 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04441
October 5, 2004

Poverty and weapons of mass destruction in same camp: WCC's Kobia

by Kristine Greenaway
Ecumenical News International

OTTAWA - Poverty is a form of violence and indifference to it is morally
equivalent to possessing weapons of mass destruction says the general
secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Sam Kobia.

	Speaking at a service attended by a number of denominations in the
Canadian capital, Kobia said: "Our task as churches is to become a community
that will say no to violence."

	On his first visit to Canada since beginning his term at the helm of
the world church body in January, Kobia encouraged Canadian churches to play
an active role in the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence. Through this
program, which runs from 2001 to 2010, "we have begun to find new ways of
addressing the issue of violence which is prevalent throughout the world,"
Kobia said.

	At a meeting with aboriginal religious leaders in the western city of
Winnipeg, Kobia heard of stories of violence in residential schools for
students descended from the original inhabitants in Canada that had been run
by churches in the country until 1969.

	Evelyn Broadfoot, a former residential school student, told Kobia of
her involvement in promoting healing and reconciliation between aboriginal
peoples and the churches.

	Kobia commended the example of the Canadian churches in "offering
apologies and seeking forgiveness is a unique experience that could be
offered to the rest of the world ... where people are seeking ways to come to
terms with their history."

	Canon Murray Still, a Cree leader with the Anglican Church of Canada
in Winnipeg, hoped the meeting with Kobia will lead to the creation of an
Indigenous Ecumenical Council to share resources such as buildings and
personnel. "Indigenous people don't see each other as Anglican or Lutheran
but as Indigenous," said Still.

	This question of identity is central to 21st century ecumenism says
Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist and the first African to head the WCC, in a meeting
with theology students and ecumenical leaders at Emmanuel College in Toronto.
"Listening to others as they define themselves" is a key principle of
inter-faith dialogue, he noted.

	Quoting an interfaith statement adopted by the WCC in 2003, Kobia
said "We are not called to stand in judgment of others." Instead he said
Christians around the world must "act as agents of healing" in communities
where "religious plurality gives rise to tension" that can escalate into
violence.

	Referring to his own secret visits to Khartoum and Nairobi to talk
with religious leaders and seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict in
Southern Sudan, Kobia said 10 years of interfaith dialogue in the region
meant he has links to both sides in the conflict. "That's what saved the
talks" he said.

	In an interview with Ecumenical News International, Bishop Raymond
Schultz of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada acknowledged that
identity is a big challenge for Canadian Christians. Noting that traditional
denominations are in decline and Islam is the fastest growing religion in the
country he said: "Our challenge is to express who we are in a pluralistic
society."

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