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Published
by the World
Council of Churches, October 5, 2005
"TRANSFORM
THE WORLD" –
US
CHURCHES PREPARE FOR WORLD COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES' 9th ASSEMBLY
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October
5, 2005 -- New York City -- As the momentum builds
in Christian communities around the globe in
anticipation of the 9th Assembly of the World
Council of Churches (WCC), which will be held in
Porto Alegre, Brazil,
14-23 February 2006, two forthcoming church events
in the US will focus on "transforming the
world".
US member churches will gather for their
pre-assembly conference in Chicago from 10-12
October 2005. Church leaders and ecumenists from
around the country will engage in theological
reflection and Bible study on the theme of the WCC
Assembly: God, in your grace, transform the world.
"We hope that the meeting in Chicago will
remind us that Porto Alegre
will really be a reunion: God's family reunion of
brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the
globe gathering to give thanks for God's gift of
unity," said Rev. Deborah DeWinter,
programme executive of
the WCC's New York
office.
Special worship leaders Dr Stanley Ralph of First
Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, Queens, NY, and
Rev. Dr. Glaucia Vasconcelos-Wilkey
of Seattle University, have planned worship
experiences in the spirit of the Assembly while
also remembering those who have suffered as a
result of the hurricanes on the US Gulf Coast.
Guest preachers will include Rev. Dr Bernice
Powell Jackson, WCC President from North America,
and Rev. Terence R. Gray, Pastor of St. Mark A.M.E.
Church, Orlando, Florida, who will be attending
the 9th Assembly.
Brazilian theologians Dr Vitor
Westhelle, professor
of systematic theology at the Lutheran School of
Theology in Chicago, and Dr Marcelo Schneider of
Porto Alegre, Brazil,
a systematic theologian specializing in ecumenical
social ethics who serves on the local planning
committee for the 9th Assembly, will lead plenary
sessions, together with Dr David Radcliff,
director of the New Community Project, a
faith-based nonprofit organization focused on
justice concerns and stewardship of the earth.
"Blessed Are The
Peacemakers" awards will be presented to
local Chicago area peacemakers at the opening
dinner, which will feature a global overview of
the WCC's Decade to
Overcome Violence. The ecumenical banquet on the
last evening will highlight the Council's
"Focus on Africa." The meeting will be
co-hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America
Leading up to the pre-assembly conference, a youth
event "Shift Your Space - Transform The
World" will be held from 8-10 October on the
campus of the Lutheran School of Theology in the
Hyde Park area of Chicago.
WCC wants to make this "the youngest
Assembly" in its history. This event is
therefore designed for young adult leaders in
peace and justice work, giving them the
opportunity to build ecumenical connections with
peers as well as with leaders of the WCC and
member churches.
Participants in the "Shift Your Space"
event will also spend time reflecting on the
economic and social implications of the recent
hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, and what this
means for young people of faith who are engaged in
"transforming the world."
"Seminarians are at the forefront of
innovative peace and justice work," says
Michael Neuroth, who
is coordinating the "Shift Your Space"
youth event on behalf of the US Conference for the
WCC.
He explains that the gathering will enable
"students and youth delegates to the WCC's
Assembly to share stories of peacemaking
initiatives led by young adults around the United
States, and strategize on new ways of engaging
with the vision for peace promoted by the WCC's
Decade to Overcome Violence."
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