“Assemblies are often turning points in the life of the World Council and this Assembly will surely leave its mark on ecumenical history,” said general secretary of the WCC, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, in an appeal to WCC members and partner organisations the world over.
“I invite churches, communities and Christians in all places to pray together on Sunday 12 February and during the days of the Assembly which will follow, united in a common faith and common vision, that the Spirit of God will come upon us and guide our work during that time, and to offer solidarity and support for the event and the proposals and vision which will emerge from the gathering,” he said.
The 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches will take place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from the 14th to 23rd February 2006.
More than 3,000 church and ecumenical leaders representing virtually all Christian traditions and regions will gather for what is expected to be the broadest WCC Assembly ever.
The Assembly will be held in the Catholic Pontifical University (PUC) under the theme “God, in your grace, transform the world”, which was chosen in the form of a prayer in order to reflect the need for healing and change, and for all members of society to recognise their dependence on God.
The WCC stated that the theme will “flow” through the Assembly, with specific days of the event to be entirely devoted to explore the various dimensions of the Assembly: “transform…the earth, our societies, our churches, our lives, our witness.”
Over the three core days of the Assembly, delegates will communicate in “ecumenical conversations” and choose from various topics relevant to the life and witness of the church in today’s era. Topics that are expected to arise are the changing religious, cultural, ecumenical, social and political landscape - from HIV/AIDS to the challenge of racism, from mission and evangelism to information technology and bioethics.
At the core of the Assembly the plenary sessions have been laid down and confirmed as: economic justice; Christian identity in a pluralistic world; church unity and the future of ecumenism; and youth overcoming violence.
The gathering will be the first to be hosted in Latin America, and to celebrate this, the programme will engage with the regional context through the involvement of local churches, national and local ecumenical bodies, and through the expected participation of many visitors from the region.
A great highlight of the week will be a special ‘Latin America Day’, and will combine prayer, presentations and an evening dedicated to the culture of the region.
Youth will also be a focus of the Assembly, and the organisers of the event are hoping that the Assembly will qualify as a youth event also, with active and visible contributions playing a part in the overall celebrations. A special Assembly youth camp will host young people from Latin America.
Rev. Dr Norman Shank, who is the minister of Govan Old Parish Church, Glasgow (Church of Scotland), was a member of the central committee elected at the Harare Assembly and is moderator of the Assembly planning committee.
He concluded, “I have no doubt that the WCC's 9th Assembly will be a life-shaping and -transforming experience for all those involved as well as for those who will be accompanying the event.
“My prayer is that all may be open to the grace-filled, graceful possibilities that the Assembly offers, and that the experience and decisions will permeate, influence, enrich and transform our churches and our world. God, in your grace, transform the world!”
Maria Mackay
Christian Today Correspondent