US office staff meet with WCC North American interns at week of meetings in Geneva

Kent Yoder,
DOV programme assistant

WCC Program Assistant for the Decade to Overcome Violence, Kent Yoder, facilitated a meeting of Geneva-based WCC interns from North America with US Office staff during the recent all-staff Week of Meetings.  Convened over lunch on 3 November 2005 at the Ecumenical Centre,  the meeting provided an opportunity for US Program Executive Rev. Deborah DeWinter and US Office Manager, Gloria Feliciano, to brief the interns on recent activities, programs and initiatives of the US Conference for the WCC.  Highlights of the briefing included updates on the 2005 WCC Scholars gathering hosted by Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO;  the 10-18 September Trip of Transformation inter-generational team visit to colleges and seminaries of US member churches in the Upper Midwest, and the 8-10 October pre-Assembly youth event, Shift Your Space, Transform the World which took place in Chicago, IL.

Discussion following the presentation centered around ways in which the US Office might accompany WCC interns from N. America in their transitions back to the United States, including the interns in future meetings of young ecumenists and US Conference members in the US context, and calling upon them to serve as WCC resource persons in upcoming events such as the 2006 gathering of WCC scholars and college and seminary visits.