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Remarks by the Rev. Samuel Kobia following his election as WCC general secretary

First report of the programme committee to the WCC Central Committee, 2002

Final report of the membership study group presented to the WCC Central Committe, September 2002

Presented at the Plenary on Being Church and Overcoming Racism of the WCC Central Committee meeting in 2002.

The report results from seven years' work by a dedicated group drawn from the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. The character of the document is intentionally educational. The group believed that it would in this way best serve the interest of all who wish to know not only the Joint Working Group's agenda but the growing relationship of the WCC and the RCC within the broader perspective of the one ecumenical movement which the group has witnessed and in some measure assisted.

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.