wfn.org | WCC AGENDA: May 2005

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - Agenda
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 20/04/2005

MAY 2005

> World youth prepares for mission
> Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
> Grassroots voices at the 58th World Health Assembly
> WCC at the the 30th Kirchentag
> Samuel Kobia at Finnish church gathering

> World youth prepares for mission
> 3-8 May, Athens, Greece

Prior to the 9-16 May WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism, 20
youth delegates from all over the world, along with 50 young people who
will work as stewards, half of them from Greece, will participate in a
five-day youth event. They will come together for ecumenical formation,
and to prepare their contribution to the conference. Visits to projects
being carried out by local churches are also on the agenda.

http://www.mission2005.org

> Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
> 9-16 May, Athens, Greece

This major international meeting convened by the WCC will gather around
the theme "Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile" and the sub-theme
"Called in Christ to be reconciling and healing communities". Right at the
outset of the 21st century, it will offer a unique opportunity for
Christians from all continents and the largest confessional families to
exchange experiences and to reflect on the priorities for mission and the
future of Christian witness. The conference is expected to host about 500
participants from the widest range of churches in the history of mission
conferences and over 100 local representatives, guests and stewards.

http://www.mission2005.org

> Grassroots voices at the 58th World Health Assembly
> 16-25 May, Geneva, Switzerland,

WCC will be facilitating grassroots, civil society and church-related
organizations representation at the World Health Assembly. This year, the
foci of the discussions and interventions are the role of health in
achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the specificity of civil
society in making that happen, promotion of essential drugs and access to
treatment for all, and health as a human right. WCC works closely with the
NGO Forum for Health, Peoples Health Movement, the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network and other partners.

http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/mission/hhw.html

> WCC at the 30th Kirchentag
> 25-29 May, Hanover, Germany

A WCC delegation will visit the German Protestant church gathering in
Hanover. It includes WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia, WCC president
from Africa Agnes Abuom, and Decade to overcome violence representative
Janice Love from the USA. Kobia will participate in a panel discussion on
globalization, and a second one on the same issue will be moderated by
Konrad Raiser, former WCC general secretary. Another highlight of the
gathering will be a Decade to overcome violence liturgical mid-term event
that is to include the "sending out" of the German delegates to the 9th
WCC assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February 2006. An ecumenical
delegation from the Pacific will also share their concerns about the
effects of climate change in their region.

http://www.overcomingviolence.org
http://www.kirchentag.de

> Samuel Kobia at Finnish church gathering
> 25-29 May, Oulu, Finland

At the invitation of the Finnish Ecumenical Council, WCC general secretary
Samuel Kobia will attend a gathering of the Finnish church in Oulu. On 27
May, he will address the topic of "Christian responsibility in a world of
terrorism, hunger and confrontation" at a seminar on world peace. On 28
May, he will speak on the right of poor people "to possess and to govern"
at a panel discussion on global justice organized by FinnChurchAid. Kobia
will also meet representatives and leaders of the churches in Finland
while in Oulu.

http://www.kirkkopaivat.fi

> Major WCC events coming up:

Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
9-16 May 2005, Athens, Greece

International interreligious conference hosted by WCC
6-10 June, 2005, Geneva, Switzerland

International Day of Prayer for Peace
21 September, worldwide

WCC 9th Assembly (2006)
14-23 February 2006, Porto Alegre, Brazil

For further information, visit the WCC media calendar at:
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/wcccalendar.nsf

Unless noted otherwise, events are by invitation only and not open to the
press or general public. The information above may change without
notice.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 120 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 Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.