wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Two candidates nominated for WCC general secretary

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World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

>For immediate release - 26/06/2009 18:43:45

TWO CANDIDATES NOMINATED FOR WCC GENERAL SECRETARY

The World Council of Churches' search committee for a general secretary  met 23-26 June 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The committee was elected  by the Central Committee in February 2008 and led by the moderator, Dr  Agnes Abuom.

The committee interviewed the six highly qualified candidates identified  at the last meeting of the committee in April 2009 in Crete.

After three days of interviews and thorough discussions, the committee  decided by consensus to propose the following two candidates for election  by the Central Committee during its meeting in August 2009: Rev. Dr Park  Seong-won of the Presbyterian Church of Korea and Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit  of the Church of Norway (Lutheran).

"The search committee worked in a good spirit of cooperation and Christian  fellowship. The candidates are both committed to the ecumenical movement.  They come from diverse backgrounds and offer a variety of experiences,  gifts and skills," Dr Agnes Abuom, the moderator of the search committee,  said following the meeting.

Press release on the search for a new WCC general secretary, 20 February  2008 ( http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=1724&L=&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news %5D=11808&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1634 )

Background information on Rev. Dr Park Seong-won ( http://www.oikoumene.org /?id=6909 )

Background information on Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit ( http://www.oikoumene.o rg/?id=6908 )

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 349 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.