May 2005
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» World youth prepares for mission
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Grassroots voices at the 58th World Health Assembly
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» WCC at the the 30th Kirchentag
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Samuel Kobia at Finnish church gathering
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» World youth prepares for mission
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» 3-8 May, Athens, Greece
Prior to the 9-16 May WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism, 20 youth delegates from all over the world, along with 50 young people who will work as stewards, half of them from Greece, will participate in a five-day youth event. They will come together for ecumenical formation, and to prepare their contribution to the conference. Visits to projects being carried out by local churches are also on the agenda.
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» 9-16 May, Athens, Greece
This major international meeting convened by the WCC will gather around the theme "Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile" and the sub-theme "Called in Christ to be reconciling and healing communities". Right at the outset of the 21st century, it will offer a unique opportunity for Christians from all continents and the largest confessional families to exchange experiences and to reflect on the priorities for mission and the future of Christian witness. The conference is expected to host about 500 participants from the widest range of churches in the history of mission conferences and over 100 local representatives, guests and stewards.
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Grassroots voices at the 58th World Health Assembly
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» 16-25 May, Geneva, Switzerland,
WCC will be facilitating grassroots, civil society and church-related organizations representation at the World Health Assembly. This year, the foci of the discussions and interventions are the role of health in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the specificity of civil society in making that happen, promotion of essential drugs and access to treatment for all, and health as a human right. WCC works closely with the NGO Forum for Health, Peoples Health Movement, the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network and other partners.
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/mission/hhw.html
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» WCC at the 30th Kirchentag
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» 25-27 May, Hanover, Germany
A WCC delegation will visit the German Protestant church gathering in Hanover. It includes WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia, WCC president from Africa Agnes Abuom, and Decade to overcome violence representative Janice Love from the USA. Kobia will participate in a panel discussion on globalization, and a second one on the same issue will be moderated by Konrad Raiser, former WCC general secretary. Another highlight of the gathering will be a Decade to overcome violence liturgical mid-term event that is to include the "sending out" of the German delegates to the 9th WCC assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February 2006. An ecumenical delegation from the Pacific will also share their concerns about the effects of climate change in their region.
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Samuel Kobia at Finnish church gathering
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» 27-29 May, Oulu, Finland
At the invitation of the Finnish Ecumenical Council, WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia will attend a gathering of the Finnish church in Oulu. On 27 May, he will address the topic of "Christian responsibility in a world of terrorism, hunger and confrontation" at a seminar on world peace. On 28 May, he will speak on the right of poor people "to possess and to govern" at a panel discussion on global justice organized by FinnChurchAid. Kobia will also meet representatives and leaders of the churches in Finland while in Oulu.
<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Major WCC events coming up:
Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
9-16 May 2005, Athens, Greece
International interreligious conference hosted by WCC
6-10 June, 2005, Geneva, Switzerland
International Day of Prayer for Peace
21 September, worldwide
WCC 9th Assembly (2006)
14-23 February 2006, Porto Alegre, Brazil
For further information, visit the WCC media calendar at:
www2.wcc-coe.org/wcccalendar.nsf
