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Adopted by the Central Committee, Geneva, 11-19 September 1997.

A statement adopted by the WCC central committee on the basis
of the WCC consultative group on AIDS study process,
September 1996

The WCC Executive Committee agreed in February 1995 that the process of study and consultation on the "common understanding and vision of the World Council of Churches" should aim at preparing a document for the Eighth Assembly, on the occasion of the WCC's 50th anniversary, which might serve as an "ecumenical charter" for the 21st century. In September 1995, the Central Committee approved a procedure for preparing such a text. An initial draft came from a consultation in December 1995 which brought together some 35 persons from all regions and church traditions. This was shared with a variety of groups and individuals, then revised in June 1996 and sent to the Central Committee for discussion in September 1996.

The Unit IV Committee recognizes that diakonia, martyria and koinonia are essential elements of the central mission of the church. Koinonia without diakonia is dead. Sharing and service as practical actions are at the heart of our fellowship and are a source of our unity.

Decision of the Central Committee, Geneva, 12-20 September 1996.

Statement adopted by the WCC Central Committee on the basis of the WCC Consultative Group on AIDS study process, September 1996.

WCC Central Committee
Geneva, Switzerland, 14-22 September 1995
STATEMENT ON THE STATUS OF JERUSALEM

The Central Committee of the WCC meeting in Geneva (March 1990) warmly welcomes the initiative of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), "Christians for Peace in the Holy Land", calling the churches around the world to join the churches in Jerusalem for prayers for peace in the Holy Land during the period from Palm Sunday to Pentecost, dates this year shared by all churches.

This poem was written in 1947 a few days before Borchert died at the age of 26. The following is an adaptation of the German version, first prepared by youth participants at the vigil for peace and justice at the WCC Assembly in Vancouver in 1983

On 5 August 1983, on the eve of the Hiroshima bombing's 38th anniversary, the WCC Assembly held a night-long vigil for peace.

This is the report of the Section on Unity at the WCC 3rd Assembly. Particularly in paragraph 2 -- probably the greatest run-on sentence in ecumenical history -- we have one of the seminal and enduring statements on the nature of "organic unity".

The formation of the WCC, and the holding of its first assembly, did not answer a number of fundamental questions about the nature of the Council and its relationship to the member churches. That task was left to the WCC's central committee at its meeting in 1950, which adopted the "Toronto Statement".

Amsterdam Assembly 1948
Extracts from Report of Committee IV
CONCERNS OF THE CHURCHES - THE EMERGENCE OF ISRAEL AS A STATE

Amsterdam Assembly 1948 Extracts from Report of Committee IV CONCERNS OF THE CHURCHES: 3.· THE CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO THE JEWS