March 2005
WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia visits WCC member churches in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Meetings with WCC members and partners, church leaders and government representatives are scheduled for all three countries.
In Sweden (26 February - 1 March), Kobia preaches at an eucharist service in Uppsala Cathedral, and holds a lecture at the Theological Institute at the University of Uppsala.
Highlights of the visit to Norway (1-4 March) are a meeting with Crown Prince Haakon, a lecture at the Norwegian School of Theology, and a meeting with the Sami Council of the Church of Norway.
The visit to Denmark (4-7 March) will include meetings with Lutheran and Baptist member churches as well as with church organizations like DanChurchAid and the Danish Missionary Council.
The inter-orthodox pre-event for the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) aims at enabling participants to the mission conference from Orthodox churches, Eastern and Oriental, to share and study together reflections and experiences on the conference theme from the specific perspective of the Orthodox tradition. Participants come mainly from Orthodox churches, but also include missiologists and mission practitioners from other churches. The CWME will be held in Athens, Greece, from 9-16 May 2005 under the theme "Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile!"
For further information, please visit the CWME website at:
The WCC is preparing an ecumenical event on water on 21 March in the Ecumenical Center, Geneva. Water is central to life, and presentations at this event will promote the call to provide access to clean drinking water for every human being. The ecumenical event is to take place just after the 17-20 March 2005 2nd Alternative World Water Forum in Geneva. The Forum goal is to develop public policy that will finally provide access to clean water for everyone and ensure that water is managed in a democratic and sustainable way.
Rev Dr Samuel Kobia will visit WCC member churches in Bangladesh and Thailand.
Besides meetings with Bangladesh church leaders and government representatives (26-29 March), he is expected to speak at an ecumenical seminar in Dhaka on "Ecumenism in the 21st century".
The visit to Thailand (29-31 March) includes Kobia's participation in the 12th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia in Chiang Mai, where he will deliver the keynote speech on the assembly's theme: "Building Communities of Peace for All". Meetings with Buddhist leaders and Thailand's minister responsible for mitigating the effects of the Tsunami disaster are also scheduled.
"Building Communities of Peace for All" is the theme of the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence 2005 focus on Asia. The annual focus will be launched at the 12th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia (31 March - 6 April). Facing various forms of violence, the question of reconciliation and peace is a crucial one in the vast and plural continent of Asia. The DOV mid-term focus will celebrate peace-building efforts undertaken in Asia, but also focus on the churches' contribution to violence. An ecumenical women's forum is scheduled before the assembly.
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
