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
Informations complémentaires: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 [email protected]