This paper offers reflections on mission as ministry of reconciliation from an ecumenical point of view and is shared by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches as a document for reflection and study in preparation for the world mission conference in Athens in May 2005.
In a time of globalization with increasing violence, fragmentation and exclusion, the mission of the church is to receive, celebrate, proclaim and work for reconciliation, healing and fullness of life in Christ. Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile
We request our churches in Korea, Japan and Germany to work locally for the remembrance of history and the transmission of insights gained thereby to the next generation.
We therefore request our congregations to work for a situation where the wrongdoing, which in some cases has only just come to light, is not repressed, and call upon them to seek solutions in cooperation with the responsible politicians and citizens' action groups.
The full text of the tribute paid by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia to Pope John Paul II, highlighting some of the specific achievements of his pontificate, is given below.
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.
Table of contents:
Introduction
Minute on economic measures for peace in Israel/Palestine
Human rights and languages of indigenous peoples
Countries affected by the tsunami
International Criminal Court
Detainees held at Guantanamo Bay
Iraq crisis: enhancing peace, accountability and the rule of law
Practising hospitality in an era of new forms of migration
The report of the Officers to the Central Committee is a constitutional obligation. The purpose of this report is to inform the Central Committee of the decisions taken by the Executive Committee at its meetings of 17-20 February and 24-27 August 2004, as well as those taken by the Officers at their meetings of 20-21 November 2003, 9-10 June and 28-29 November 2004.
This paper is a development of a draft prepared by Alan Falconer and Martin Robra to describe the ethos of the Padares at the Eighth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare (1998). It continues to be the underlying understanding for the deliberative sessions of the WCC Central Committee.
