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>World Council of Churches - News

WCC GENERAL SECRETARY TO SPEAK AT THE "KIRCHENTAG"

>For immediate release: 10 May 2010

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse
Tveit will be one of the main speakers at the Second Ecumenical  Kirchentag
in Munich, Germany, 12-16 May.

Tveit will participate in two key panel discussions on ecumenism  and on
peace with Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, chairperson of the German  Catholic
Bishops' Conference, and with the Rev. Nikolaus Schneider, chairperson  of
the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), among others.

The Ecumenical Kirchentag, an initiative of Germany's Protestant  and Roman
Catholic lay movements, is expected to draw in hundreds of thousands  of
visitors, including some 4000 guests from abroad.

Other highlights on Tveit's agenda and other WCC representatives  are:

Tveit brings greetings from the WCC fellowship of 349 churches worldwide  to
the opening event on Wednesday evening;Tveit co-conducts an
inter-religious Bible study with Muslim theologian Dr Ataullah Siddiqui  on
Saturday; Peace-making Forum on Friday: "One day preparing for the
International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=c01df39a4475250c0f4c )";  it includes a 
liturgical
evening with the participation of Archbishop Zollitsch and peace  activists
such as the former minister of the Nikolai Church in Leipzig, Rev.
Christian Führer;Launch of the worship book “Laudate  omnes gentes”
during an ecumenical celebration Saturday evening; participants  will
include former EKD Council chairperson Rev. Dr Margot Kässmann,  the
Catholic Bishop of Magdeburg Dr Gerhard Feige and the Romanian Orthodox
Metropolitan of Germany and Central Europe Dr Serafim Joanta.
WCC staff and members of its governing bodies will also be involved  in
public debates related to issues of social justice, overcoming violence,
mission and the changing ecumenical landscape.

The Ecumenical Kirchentag offers some 3000 events – worship  services,
bible studies, discussions, workshops etc. – under the theme  "That you
may have hope."

While the Protestant and the Roman Catholic lay movements in Germany  have
been celebrating the faith at their respective conventions –  Deutscher
Evangelischer Kirchentag and Deutscher Katholikentag – for  many decades,
the ecumenical gathering is only the second of its kind. The First
Ecumenical Kirchentag took place in Berlin in 2003.

Media contact in Munich: Annegret Kapp (+41.78.949.30.89), Juan  Michel
(+41.79.507.6363)

Overview of WCC activities at the Second Ecumenical Kirchentag
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=6405b35d2694f1585719  )

Find more information, including a short video presentation, on  the
Kirchentag website (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=8c465f8660f1aec35879 )

WCC member churches in Germany (Link:

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=a13e6ff83e073bd07797 )

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 Olav Fykse  Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.