wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Theological congress in parallel to 9th Assembly

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

World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 30/01/2006

INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL CONGRESS TO DEBATE MISSION AND ECUMENISM

Over 100 theology students from Latin America and other regions of the
world will participate in an international and ecumenical theological
congress that will take place in parallel to the World Council of
Churches' (WCC) 9th Assembly.

With the theme "Mission and Ecumenism in Latin America", the 2006
ecumenical congress will take place 12 - 25 February at the Lutheran
School of Theology (EST) of São Leopoldo, 35 kilometres from Porto
Alegre, the Assembly venue.

Two former WCC general secretaries - Konrad Raiser, who first proposed the
idea of the congress, and Emilio Castro - are among the speakers.
Gottfried Brakemeier, João Batista Libânio, Viola Raheb, Marcelo
Barros, K. M. George, Edla Eggert, Ulrich Duchrow, Bernard Ugeux and Juan
Sepúlveda are a few of the more than 50 theologians and ecumenists who
are scheduled to speak at the congress.

"In a context like the Latin American one, with a religious market
characterized by bitter competition, where the churches that proliferate
the most are opposed to ecumenism, the congress intends to take advantage
of the energy of the Assembly to offer new incentives for churches to get
to know and to collaborate with each other," said the congress coordinator, EST ecumenism professor Dr Rudolf Von Sinner.

Participants will debate issues like the contemporary theology of mission
and ecumenism, the relationship between ecumenism and Pentecostalism,
between churches and civil society, inter-religious dialogue, churches and
sexuality, theological education, ecumenical spirituality and cultural
diversity, among others.

The congress will not be limited to the academic arena, and will include
visits to social projects like the Landless Workers' Movement and the
Unemployed Workers' Movement. Participants will also take part in various
elements of the 9th Assembly programme, such as the "ecumenical conversations", the Mutirão and a plenary session on Latin America.

The congress is being sponsored by the EST, together with the Association
of Evangelical Theological Seminaries (ASTE), the Latin American and
Caribbean Community of Ecumenical Theological Education (CETELA), with the
support of the WCC Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) network.

Additional information available in:
http://www.est.com.br/congresso_ecumenico_2006/in/

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

Sign up for WCC press releases at
http://onlineservices.wcc-coe.org/pressnames.nsf

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.