World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 13/02/2008 07:04:28 PM
WCC WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBER CHURCHES
Two church communions from opposite sides of the globe were welcomed into full fellowship of the World Council of Churches Wednesday, increasing the membership of the WCC to 349.
Newly joining the WCC are the Independent Presbyterian Church in Brazil and the Lao Evangelical Church. Under the WCC's new membership guidelines, both churches were received for an interim period at the September 2006 Central Committee meeting, allowing for a time of interaction and further evaluation.
WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia on Wednesday read the Executive Committee recommendations that both bodies be officially accepted, and the Central Committee affirmed the recommendations without further discussion.
The Lao Evangelical Church is the first WCC member from Laos, a nation of some 6 million people. Growing out of mission work from the late 19th century, it was formally established in 1956 and today has approximately 100,000 members in 300 congregations. It is the largest denomination in the country officially recognized by the government.
The Independent Presbyterian Church in Brazil (www.ipib.org ( http://www.ip ib.org/ )) has about 95,000 members and 500 congregations. It formally organized in 1903, developing a variety of mission projects, social work, and education programmes over the next century. It is the sixth WCC member church from Brazil, which hosted the WCC's Ninth Assembly in 2006.
More information on the central committee meeting: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/cc2008.html
More information on the Independent Presbyterian Church in Brazil: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=5534
More information on the Lao Evangelical Church: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=5533
Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363media@wcc -coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
WCC ID: nJoBWU5exi1qWrutF9UPe3zxFO1kvkS1uXQ4WDHV1NjMpf3OQUc2W1yD9KlKiEs