News
In this issue:
Kobia to visit Ecumenical Patriarchate
Global mission from a marginalized perspective
WCC and the Roman Catholic Church
European ecumenical gathering televised live at the Ecumenical Centre
WCC commissions to discuss diakonia and justice
Kobia celebrates ecumenical elder
WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia to visit Ecumenical Patriarchate
1-4 May 2004, Istanbul, Turkey
Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, considered "first among equals" of the Eastern Orthodox churches and one of the WCC founding members in 1948. More information on this visit will be made available on the WCC calendar.
www.wcc-coe.org > press corner > media calendar
Global mission from a marginalized perspective
1-6 May 2004, Accra, Ghana
In an effort to bring a new understanding and approach to mission, the WCC Urban Rural Mission programme (URM) will gather clergy and lay participants from grassroots mission networks, indigenous and other marginalized groups for this global mission conference. Participants will share together in Bible study in the "Lectio Divina" style as well as different types of group dialogue, including story circles traditional to North American indigenous communities. The conference will begin with local community visits, enabling participants to strengthen their understanding of contemporary missiological challenges from the perspectives of people in struggle. Organizers hope to continue deepening a holistic vision of mission in preparation for the 2005 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME).
URM: wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/mission/urm.html
CWME:www.mission2005.org
WCC and the Roman Catholic Church
6-13 May, Kolympari-Chania, Greece
The Joint Working Group (JWG) between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church will convene for its last plenary meeting prior to the 2006 WCC assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil. JWG members will finalize ongoing studies on the nature and purpose of ecumenical dialogue, implications of common baptism, and participation of the Roman Catholic Church in national and regional ecumenical councils. The meeting will also prepare the eighth report of the Joint Working Group, assessing the past seven years of collaboration between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches. Participants in the meeting will be invited to make an evaluation of the work done and look at future perspectives.
About the JWG:
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/ecumenical/jwgh-e.html
European ecumenical gathering shown live at the Ecumenical Centre
8 May 2004, Geneva, Switzerland, 09:45-17:30
The first European ecumenical gathering of Christian movements and communities to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, on Saturday, 8 May, will be shown live on a large screen at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, from 09:45 to 17:30. Convened by more than 120 movements from different Christian traditions under the theme "Together for Europe", the Stuttgart gathering is expected to bring together about 10,000 participants. The event will be televised live via satellite to some 150 European cities. The Ecumenical Centre in Geneva will be the viewing point for French-speaking Switzerland.
More information on the encounter: www.europ2004.org
WCC commissions come together to discuss diakonia and justice
9-15 May, Chavannes-de-Bogis, Switzerland
The WCC Commissions of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), Diakonia and Development (CCDD), and Justice, Peace and Creation (CCJPC) will come together for their first joint meeting to improve understanding of the churches' complementary roles in diakonia and justice work. WCC theologians and scholars from the three commissions will explore ways in which churches balance their efforts to change oppressive global structures with their mission to meet the immediate needs of victims of those structures. Participants will also discuss the current shift from a needs-based to a rights-based approach, debating the merits of each. Information on joint sessions and keynote speakers will be confirmed.
For more information on the work of each commission:
CCIA- wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/index-e.html
CCDD- wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/regional/index-e.html
CCJPC- wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/index-e.html
WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia celebrates ecumenical elder
13-19 May 2004, New York, USA
Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will be the keynote speaker at a celebration for the 90th birthday of renowned ecumenist Margaret Flory in New York. Flory was an ecumenist, leader of student religious work, and mission executive in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from 1944-1980 who set up and directed innovative mission programmes including Junior Year Abroad, Frontier Internships in Mission, and Bi-National Service. Her ecumenical influence has been felt far beyond her own country, denomination, gender or generation.