News about the WCC US office

"Heartfelt congratulations" were expressed to the US President-elect Barack Obama by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia. In a 5 November letter congratulating Obama on his election to the presidency of the United States, Kobia hailed him as "a leader not only in the United States, but in the hopes and dreams of so many people across the globe".

Rev. Dr. Larry Rasmussen, who was Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York from 1986-2004, is one of the leading voices in the Christian community speaking on the intersection between Christian ethics and the environment. On 2-4 December 2008 at the US Conference Annual Meeting, Rasmussen will speak at a plenary on climate change, primarily about theological and ethical dimensions to...

Dr. Elizabeth G. Ferris, Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and Co-Director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, will be speaking on Climate Change at the Annual Meeting of the United States Conference for the World Council of Churches on 2-4 December 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Rodney S. Sadler, Jr., an Associate Professor of Bible for Union-PSCE at Charlotte, will lead the bible study sessions at the US Conference's Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Sadler has a Bachelors of Arts from Howard University, a Masters in Theology from Howard University School of Divinity, and a Doctor in Philosophy from Duke University.

Ecumencial Advocacy Days, an event sponsored by the US Conference along with many others, will take place in Washington, DC from March 13-16, 2009. The following is an invitation to the event from the conference coordinator as well as registration materials.

The United Nations Liaison Office of the World Council of Churches (WCC) co-sponsored an international dialogue on September 25 between some 300 religious leaders and political figures - including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - aimed at exploring faith perspectives and the role of religion regarding global issues such as poverty, war and prejudice while deepening mutual understanding.

The executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) meeting 23-26 September in Luebeck, Germany announced their decision to extend the contract of Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, the current WCC general secretary, through the time when a new general secretary takes office.

The devastation of the Gulf Coast and the resilience of survivors was experienced first-hand by a group of young adults sponsored by grants from the U.S. Conference for the World Council of Churches. From August 17-23, 2008 four young ecumenists joined 35 other participants for the National Council of the Churches USA Ecumenical Work Week.

As hundreds of thousands of people from the US Gulf Coast have evacuated their homes, fleeing from Hurricane Gustav as they did from Katrina three years ago, US churches keep praying and providing relief. They also denounce underlying social and economic conditions that make for the vulnerability of the region.

To our brothers and sisters of the U.S. Gulf Coast,

The US Conference of the World Council of Churches sends you the love and prayers of your brothers and sister in Christ across the country and around the world.  We join the many who have expressed concern for your well-being and who are holding you constantly in prayer.  Know that we will continue to walk with you in your time of trouble, to help wipe away your tears and help you re-build...