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Church members can follow WCC assembly from home

Jan. 24, 2006

NOTE: A photograph, audio and related stories are available at
http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

Those who aren't attending the 2006 assembly of the World Council of
Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil, can still learn about the issues and
follow the action from home.

More than 3,000 participants - representing nearly all Christian
traditions, including Methodism, and all geographic regions - are
expected to gather Feb. 14-23 at the Catholic Pontifical University. The
assembly theme is "God, in your grace, transform the world."

To mark the beginning of the assembly, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, a
Methodist from Kenya and the WCC's chief executive, is inviting
"churches, communities and Christians in all places to pray together" on
Sunday, Feb. 12.

He encourages continuing prayer throughout the assembly period "so that
the Spirit of God will come upon us and guide our work during that time,
and to offer solidarity and support for the event and the proposals and
vision which will emerge from the gathering."

A brochure on the Feb. 12 "Assembly Sunday," ideas for prayer and
worship, and materials for reflection on the assembly theme are
available in five languages online at www.wcc-assembly.info, the WCC's
official assembly Web site.

Church members also can access that Web site to learn more about the
issues and concerns, such as church unity, economic justice and
religious plurality, that assembly representatives will discuss.

Program documents, prayers, Bible studies, news stories and feature
articles are being posted on the assembly site.

During the assembly itself, video summaries and live webcasts of plenary
sessions are planned, as well as an e-news service open to the public.

In a project related to the assembly, church members around the world
can take advantage of "Keeping the Faith," an integrated communication
project. It includes a mobile exhibit, photo essays, a book and a Web
site.

According to the WCC, the project elements "explore the reality of the
living church in various cultural contexts throughout the oikoumene
(global community): the reality of people, their faith and their
communities, engaging in dialogue, working in mission, praying together,
facing conflict and violence, poverty and illness, and responding to a
rapidly changing world."

The mobile exhibit will be on display during the assembly and available
for WCC partners to use in upcoming years.

To see the current postings, visit www.keeping-the-faith.info, the
project Web site.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org