2006 World Methodist assembly will focus on reconciliation Oct. 1, 2004 By Kathy L. Gilbert*
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Gillian Kingston reviews plans for the 19th World Methodist Council meeting to be held in Seoul in 2006.
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Gillian
Kingston tells members of the executive committee of the World
Methodist Council during a meeting in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, that
reconciliation is a �life and death issue.� Kingston was reviewing
plans for the 19th World Methodist Council meeting to be held in Seoul,
South Korea, July 20-24, 2006, under the theme �God in Christ
Reconciling.� A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo number 04-425, Accompanies UMNS #452, 10/1/04 |
PORT ELIZABETH, South
Africa (UMNS)-The "life and death issue" of reconciliation will be the
theme for the World Methodist Council’s next assembly, set for 2006 in
South Korea, according to the event’s program chairperson.The 19th World Methodist Council will meet July 20-24, 2006, in Seoul under the theme, "God In Christ Reconciling." Gillian
Kingston, a layperson from the Methodist Church of Ireland, is the
first woman to serve as program chairperson for a World Methodist
Council event. The 2006 meeting is expected to draw more than 5,000
delegates from around the world to the Kum Nan Methodist Church for the
council’s quinquennial gathering. Taken
from 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, "the theme is a relevant message for people
worldwide," she told the council’s executive committee at a Sept. 15-18
meeting in Port Elizabeth. Reconciliation is a ministry, a theological
issue and a "life and death issue" for all people, she said. "Reconciliation
Among Nations," "Reconciliation in Society," "Reconciliation in the
Church," and "Reconciliation for the Individual" will be sub themes for
each day of the meeting, she explained.
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose The Rev. George Freeman welcomes members to a meeting of the World Methodist Council.
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The
Rev. George Freeman, top staff executive of the World Methodist
Council, welcomes members and guests to a meeting of the council's
executive committee at St. John's Methodist Church in Port Elizabeth,
South Africa. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo number 04-424, Accompanies UMNS # 452, 10/1/04
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Kingston is working
to have as many cultures as possible represented among speakers for the
event but said "we cannot hear every voice every time."George
Freeman, top staff executive of the council, asked that people across
the Methodist-Wesleyan connection pray for the conference. "Pray
that we will honor God and help us all in our ministry of
reconciliation," he said. "We are praying this conference will bring
together this family in a common witness and that the people called
Methodist might bring about better lives through reconciliation." The
council, representing 76 denominations with roots in the Methodist
movement, meets every five years. The last gathering was held in
Brighton, England, in July 2001. *Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer in Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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