"It was the first time the WCC would play a significant role in the formation of a regional ecumenical organization," says WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, in a 5 March letter congratulating the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) on the 50th anniversary of its founding.
By participants (representing 8 national councils and ecumenical partners) of a workshop on the "Ecumenical Agenda of Churches in Solidarity with Differently-Abled Persons" under the auspices of the Christian Conference of Asia and EDAN.
These guidelines - covering the roles of moderators, delegates and participants; setting the agenda; making decisions by consensus and by formal vote; election process; language and other elements - apply to the Assembly and to meetings of all bodies of the WCC.
Asia has the potential to become economically prosperous in the near future, but it is also likely to see increasing disparities of health and wealth. These injustices are themselves a form of violence that may in turn lead to yet more expressions of violence in the region. This potential scenario makes the focus on the Asian region in 2005 by the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) all the more relevant.
Rights of minorities, increasing trends of religious intolerance, political violence, the need for strengthening of interfaith dialogue at grassroots level and Christian contributions to social development were discussed by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia and Prof. Dr Iajjudin Ahmed, President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, during his first visit to the country.
From 26 March to 2 April World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit WCC member churches in Bangladesh and Thailand for the first time since taking office. On 1 April, he will also be the keynote speaker at the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) general assembly.
The rights of the Papuan people will be the focus of WCC's involvement in the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). The WCC delegation includes representatives from Papua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Nepal and Colombia. A written submission has been presented to the commission, and a study on the economic, social and cultural rights of the Papuan people, commissioned by German churches with the WCC and undertaken by Papuan academics and human rights defenders, will be released on Thursday, 31 March.
This document has been written to accompany World Council of Churches, Partnerships between Churches and People Living with HIV/AIDS Organizations: Guidelines, (2005). Whereas the partnership document explores the question of why churches should work with People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) organizations and networks, this document has a focus on how churches may work with PLWHA organizations and networks. For example: What issues do you need to think about? What are the needs of PLWHA? How should you interact PLWHA? It is hoped that this document of practical suggestions will assist in helping make partnerships functional and effective.
