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WCC executive committee to meet for first time in Korea

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  • WCC executive committee to meet for first time in Korea

    COE (Communiqués de presse), Switzerland
    Aug 16 2004

    WCC executive committee to meet for first time in Korea;
    general secretary to visit Korean churches

    The vitality of the churches and the ecumenical movement in Korea and
    the region will be at the centre of attention during a 24-27 August
    2004 World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committe meeting in
    Seoul. The meeting will be preceded by a visit by the WCC general
    secretary to the Korean churches from 18-20 August 2004, and by a
    special programme for WCC executive committee members from 21-23
    August 2004.

    Peace and reconciliation in the divided peninsula has received
    particular attention from the churches and the WCC for decades; it
    will be the focus of a statement by the executive committee on Korea.
    The committee will address other situations of international concern,
    including events in Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Somalia.

    Preparations for the WCC's 9th assembly, to be held in Brazil in
    February 2006, will also receive priority attention. In addition, the
    committee will review applications for membership from several
    churches, and a series of proposed amendments to membership rules.

    Also on the agenda are a review of the WCC's Pacific office, a
    progress report on relations with partner organizations, a detailed
    programme report for the first half of 2004, and an update on the
    council's finances.

    For the first time, the executive committee will be using a consensus
    method of decision-making as a new methodology of work to be applied
    at major WCC meetings. This approach to decision-making was proposed
    by the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC, and
    is seen as a more inclusive and conciliar way of working.


    WCC leadership to visit Korean churches

    Prior to the meeting, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
    will visit WCC member churches in Korea, and a series of encounters
    with church leadership and congregations is planned (18-20 August).

    A special programme (21-23 August) for the members of the executive
    committee will include a visit to the demilitarized zone that divides
    North and South Korea.

    The programme also includes worship in local church communities, as
    well as a reception hosted by the National Council of Churches in
    Korea (NCCK) and the Korean ministry of culture. An audience with the
    president of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Roh Moo-hyun, is also
    foreseen.

    On 23 August, the NCCK will organize a seminar on the future of
    ecumenism which will be addressed by WCC leadership.

    The executive committee meeting is being hosted by the NCCK and the
    four WCC member churches in the country: the Anglican Church of
    Korea, the Korean Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in the
    Republic of Korea, and the Presbyterian Church of Korea.

    The 25-member executive committee is the highest governing body
    between meetings of the WCC central committee, and it usually meets
    twice-yearly. Its moderator is Catholicos Aram I, head of the
    Armenian Apostolic Church (Cilicia).


    Media contact: Ms Jung Hae-Sun, 82-2-745-4943, 82-16-396-2876
    (mobile), [email protected]


    Programme highlights for press:

    18 August
    16:00 WCC general secretary gives press conference at Korea Christian
    Building

    20 August
    09:20 WCC general secretary visits the Christian Broadcasting System
    and gives an interview

    21 August
    Morning: WCC general secretary attends the North East Asia church
    leaders' meeting at the Centennial Building

    22 August
    09:00 WCC executive committee members visit local churches

    18:30 Welcome reception (hosted by NCCK )

    23 August
    09:30 International Forum on New Vision and Challenges to Ecumenism
    in the 21st Century (80th anniversary celebration of NCCK)

    16:00 Visit to office of South and North Dialogue

    17:20 Welcome reception (hosted by minister of culture and tourism)

    24 August
    16:00 Visit to the Blue House (presidential office)

    27 August
    14:00 WCC leadership give a press conference at Korea Christian
    Building

    Website of the National Council of Churches in Korea
    http://www.kncc.or.kr
    Informations complémentaires: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
    6363 [email protected]
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