WCC Executive Committee in Ethiopia exposed to famine situation

(13.09.11, Addis Ababa)--The WCC Executive Committee opened its bi-annual meetings Monday 12 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a welcoming ceremony by local church leaders and poignant and detailed presentations on the regional humanitarian crisis in Somalia and neighbouring countries.

 Idosa Wakseyoum, Abune Paulos, Walter Altmann, Olav Fykse Tveit.

Recognizing that the influence of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has brought Christians closer together, Abune Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

welcomed the Executive Committee by saying the WCC “must continue and endure for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

“We pray that God may bless you all with his abundance of gifts during your stay here,” Paulos said. “I can assure you that we will continue to uphold you in our prayers,” Rev. Dr Idosa Wakseyoum, president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (Lutheran) said in his opening remarks.

“We are the body of Christ and each one of us is a part of it,” Wakseyoum said. Both churches are members of the WCC fellowship of 349 churches around the world. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a founding member of the WCC, and Paulos is the WCC president representing the Oriental Orthodox churches.

Church and ecumenical leaders from Addis Ababa attended the opening ceremony as did WCC Executive Committee members, regional aid workers and local press.

General secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches the Rev. Dr Andre Karamaga welcomed the committee by thanking the WCC “for having contributed enormously to our struggle for freedom, and we trust this support … will continue in this era, when our dignity is our top priority.”

The Executive Committee will spend the week reviewing the work of the WCC. Members will deliberate over budget, programme, policy and issues of public concern. FULL ARTICLE AT WCC »

Home