(URL Links supercede the articles/information.)
1. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/unaw.html
UN Photo/ Andrea Brizzi
World Council of Churches
5th Annual
United Nations Advocacy Week
15-20 November 2009
We are churches together to transform the world.
5th Annual
United Nations Advocacy Week
15-20 November 2009
We are churches together to transform the world.
You are here: UNAW
WCC
UNAW
Advocacy week 2009
About us (2)
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2. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/unaw/about-us.html
About Us
UN Photo/ Eskinder Debebe
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement. The WCC brings together 349 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians.
As a fellowship of churches, the WCC has been mandated by its member churches (3) to take a leading role in this public witness by facilitating, networking, coordinating and challenging churches and organisations within the ecumenical movement. The challenge that came to us through the theme of the Assembly, "God in Your Grace, Transform the World," continues to be both relevant and urgent. When we look at the state of our world today, we see that the task of transformation has not ended - it remains the dominant theological and missiological paradigm for the churches and Christians in the twenty-first century.
In this framework, the WCC undertakes a prophetic role with emphasis on the theological and spiritual imperatives of speaking truth to power as part of the global churches' public witness for justice, peace and reconciliation. The WCC will continue to accompany churches and the ecumenical movement as they participate in transformative action.
United Nations Liaison Office
The WCC's United Nations Liaison Office (UNLO) works to make the voices of the churches and ecumenical organizations heard in order to influence the policy decisions made at the United Nations. The UNLO places special attention on enhancing ecumenical cooperation and coordination in advocacy, witness, accompaniment and ethical and moral input at the international level. The UNLO works to ensure that a common ecumenical perspective is developed and communicated and that the voices of the ecumenical community of the global south and most specifically the voices of victims are heard.
Indeed, throughout the WCC work with the ecumenical movement in general and through the WCC United Nations Liaison Office in particular, advocacy has become a leit-motiv of ecumenical collaborative work. Currently, the WCC's United Nations Advocacy Week (UNAW) is an evolving model of this ecumenical collaboration.
The United Nations Liaison Offices is part of the WCC's programme Public witness: Addressing power, affirming peace.
Important links
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle
Internships
Decade to Overcome Violence
Frequently Asked Questions
Library at the Ecumenical Centre
Online document depository
WCC Video Productions
WCC Book Publications
3. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches.html
You are here: WCC > Member churches
WCC member churches and councils: Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships
Click on the map to find your country and your church! Discover the main church families and the global Christian bodies!
Welcome!
This section is based on the "Handbook of Churches and Councils", published in 2006 by the World Council of Churches.
This knowledge database shares a wide variety of data about the churches, conciliar and confessional bodies related to the WCC (statistics on church memberships, number of churches, congregations, pastors, links, etc.), as well as information about the different regions and countries they represent.
For an alphabetical list of all WCC member churches click here.
Church families
Information on main Christian traditions. Not all of them include WCC member churches.
African Instituted churches
Anglican churches
The Assyrian Church
Baptist churches
The Catholic church
Disciples of Christ / Churches of Christ
Evangelical churches
Friends (Quakers)
Holiness churches
Lutheran churches
Mennonite churches
Methodist churches
Moravian churches
Old-Catholic churches
Orthodox churches (Eastern)
Orthodox churches (Oriental)
Pentecostal churches
Reformed churches
The Salvation Army
Seventh-day Adventist Church (4)
United and Uniting churches
Free and independent churches
Regions
Africa
Asia
Caribbean
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Pacific
Global ecumenical bodies
World Council of Churches
Global Christian Forum
Community of Churches in Mission
Council for World Mission
United Evangelical Mission
4. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/church-families/seventh-day-adventist-church.html
You are here: WCC > Member churches > Church families > Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a denomination of conservative evangelical Christians. The church arose out of the eschatological expectations of the middle nineteenth century (epitomized by the Millerite Movement), but was only formally organized in 1863. The Millerites had set October 22, 1844, for the return of Christ. With the failure of this date, the movement fell into disarray. One of the small Adventist groups adopted the Seventh-day Sabbath, reinterpreted the events of 1844, and became, in due course, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The roots of Adventism, however, go back much further - to the Reformation and the church of the New Testament.
Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as the inspired word of God. In essence, the Bible is their only creed, though they do have a statement of 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which is subject to revision at any General Conference World Session, as new light is received or better language is found, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These beliefs include the Trinity, believers' baptism, spiritual gifts, death as an unconscious state until the resurrection, and the New Earth as the home of the redeemed after the millennium. SDAs are creationists and believe that man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of the Biblical creation week. With the entry of sin, God's plan of salvation was put into effect. In Christ's life of perfect obedience to God's will, his suffering, death and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept the gift of salvation may have eternal life. Since the very beginning, Seventh-day Adventists have been consistent advocates of religious freedom for all, and have taken a lead in its international promotion, including at the UN.
Global mission and evangelism are essential elements of the SDA ethos. The church is intent on sharing the good news of justification, righteousness by faith, salvation through Jesus Christ, and his imminent return. As a result, the SDA Church is probably the most widespread Protestant denomination, with work in over 200 countries. Though cradled in North America, less than 8 percent of her membership today resides there, and there is considerable growth in various parts of the world. Adventists wish to live lives of service to God and humankind. To help achieve this goal the church owns and operates many institutions: over 6,000 schools (from kindergarten to university), 720 hospitals and health-care facilities, publishing houses, and health food factories. Media centres (worldwide satellite TV and radio) have been established in recent decades. Adventists believe in a healthy lifestyle, which includes a good diet (many Adventists are vegetarians) and abstention from harmful drugs, including alcohol and tobacco products. Adventists also promote public health. The church operates the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), which is well-known internationally for its work on behalf of disaster victims and third world development projects.
The SDA church sees herself not as a federation of local or national churches, but as one world church. There is an effective form of representative government. The church's polity provides for four key organizational levels: 1) the local church, a united body of individual believers, 2) the Conference, a united body of local churches, 3) the Union Conference, the united body of several conferences (a larger territory, often a nation), 4) the General Conference, the worldwide body whose constituent units are the approximately 100 Unions. The General Conference operates through its 13 Divisions (branch offices).
Seventh-day Adventists "recognize those agencies that lift up Christ before men as a part of the divine plan for the evangelization of the world" (General Conference Working Policy, 075). They enter into fellowship with other Christians and practice open communion. They believe that in a certain sense they are a prophetic movement with a time of the end message centering on the "eternal gospel" to give to the world. While they welcome opportunities to dialogue and reach better understanding, they have not formally joined the organized ecumenical movement by becoming members of councils of churches. They do, however, in many cases have observer, consultant, or advisor status. Adventists wish to preserve and protect their unique identity and give life to their God-given evangelistic and service mission.
The office of the general conference is located in Silver Spring, USA. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is comprised of 14 million baptized believers, representing with children a fellowship of some 25 million Adventists.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is not a member of the World Council of Churches.