wfn.org | WCC NEWS: WCC considers three sites for 10th Assembly

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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 - 27/08/2009 15:15:45

>WCC CONSIDERS THREE SITES FOR 10TH ASSEMBLY

Central committee members will choose between three potential
sites for the 10th Assembly (
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/who-are-we/organization-structure/governing-bodies/assembly.html
)of the World Council of Churches, to be held in 2013: Busan,
South Korea; Damascus, Syria; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Selecting a venue for the next assembly is among the most
important decisions that will be taken at this meeting of the
central committee,” vice-moderator Rev. Dr Margaretha
Hendriks-Ririmasse said in introductory remarks on 27 August.
“The location of the next assembly and the involvement of the
hosting churches will help to shape the theme of the assembly,
the particular witness of the assembly and the message that the
assembly will offer to the world.”

Churches in each of the locations had given invitations to the
WCC to hold the next assembly there and were visited by a team to
assess facilities, local church involvement, unique features, and
other logistics. Rhodes, Greece, had also expressed interest in
hosting the Assembly and was visited by the assessment team, but
representatives withdrew that site from consideration during
Thursday’s presentations. 

“Each location is capable of hosting a great assembly,” said
Rev. Rui Bernhard of Brazil, who served as national coordinator
of the 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre. Bernhard was called as a
special consultant to visit the venues along with WCC staff.

He said churches in each location were “eager to welcome” the
assembly, and had strong levels of ecumenical commitment. Each
site also presents some “logistical challenges”, he added, noting
that these concerns could be addressed in the planning.

The central committee is discussing other aspects of the
assembly, as well, particularly the call from the 2006 gathering
in Porto Alegre to create an “expanded space” for broader
ecumenical activity at the next assembly. An Assembly Discernment
Committee has met twice to address this concern and is bringing
10 recommendations to the central committee.

The central committee’s Policy Reference Committee is reviewing
the recommendations on the venue and the recommendations of the
discernment committee. It will bring proposals for consideration
by the full central committee next Tuesday, 1 September.

More information on the central committee meeting:
http://www.oikoumene.org/cc2009

Free high resolution photos are available:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/cc2009/photo-galleries.html

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.