News about the WCC US office

"Violence does not recognize differences between Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox or Pentecostal. Violence is our common plague, and non-violent love, peace, justice and reconciliation are our common calling," Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia told participants in a 27-29 October international conference in Boston, USA.

The passing away of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks is a challenging reminder to us as churches that resistance to racism, in all its forms, is a responsibility that we continue to carry, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia wrote on 27 October to WCC member churches in the USA.

The Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church joined with other church leaders in a special symposium Saturday (Oct. 22) to predict a vital future for the ecumenical movement, although not necessarily in the form of councils and commissions.

"Today's constellation of ecumenical organizations is not immutable," according to the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary. Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia suggested that for this reason, those involved in the ecumenical movement have to seek new "ways of working together in more suitable patterns".

Seminarians, students and youth delegates have expressed their determination to carry forward the ecumenical vision in the US, and have challenged church leaders to take their contribution seriously.

Church and ecumenical leaders gathered at the WCC-US Conference's 10-12 October 2005 annual meeting in Chicago gave special attention to the situation of Africa as part of their preparations for the WC's 9th Assembly in 2006, which will gather under the theme “God, in your grace, transform the world”.

Youth leaders expressed their energy and determination to carry forward the ecumenical vision in the US, and challenged church representatives to take their contribution seriously, in a preparatory gathering for the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) 9th assembly in 2006.

The US Decade to Overcome Violence committee honoured five individuals and organizations from the Chicago area for their peacemaking efforts during the US Conference for the World Council of Churches Annual Meeting and Pre Assembly event.

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".

From September 10th through the 18th, a multi-denominational, multi-generational team from the World Council of Churches headquarters in Geneva and office in New York took a road trip from Dubuque, Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota visiting along the way with colleges and seminaries affiliated with WCC member churches. This was the first of what will hopefully become an annual trip to different regions of the United States to build relationships...