Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications

Press release No. 09-11/e

Brussels, 10 March 2009

The Church and Society Commission of CEC meets in Denmark

The last annual meeting of the Church and Society Commission before the 13th Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) will be held in Nyborg, Denmark from 11 to 15 March 2009. At the invitation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, the 24-member Commission, together with staff and representatives of partner organisations, will meet at Nyborg Strand where, in 1959, representatives of 45 churches gathered for the first CEC Assembly under the theme “European Christianity in the secularised world of today”.

The Commission members will evaluate the Commission’s work from 2003 to 2009, its mechanisms and methodologies, relations with member churches and partner organisations, as well as the Commission’s role as link between the churches and the European Institutions. They will discuss preparations for the 13th CEC Assembly which will take place in Lyon, France from 15 to 21 July on the theme “Called to one hope in Christ”. The Commission will adopt the work programme for 2009-10. It will also prepare a letter to mark the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

“Denmark in 1959 was a country which was considered sufficiently neutral during the cold war era, where the churches could gather to work together for the benefit of the society”, said Ms Anthea Cox, co-moderator of the Church and Society Commission. "We are grateful for the invitation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark to hold the last meeting of the Commission at the venue where CEC was founded fifty years ago. We are looking forward to reflecting together with the churches in Denmark on fifty years of CEC”, she added.

The meeting will culminate with worship in the Lutheran Cathedral of Copenhagen, followed by a public event on the theme "The role of religion in the public sphere". "The recent visit of the Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark to Brussels and the European Institutions has shown this is a very timely issue to be raised in the Danish context. Members of the Church and Society Commission, who have reflected on the role of religion in the public sphere in recent years, will be happy to learn more about the Danish context in this regard and to contribute with their experiences to the public debate in Denmark”, said Rev. Rüdiger Noll, Director of the Church and Society Commission and Associate General Secretary of CEC.

During the meeting, the Church and Society Commission will also celebrate ten years as part of CEC, having grown out of the former European Ecumenical Commission for Church and Society, formally established in 1984 but whose beginnings date back to 1959.

******

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Church and Society Commission of CEC links member churches and associated organisations of CEC with the European Union’s institutions, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO and the UN (on European matters). Its task is to help the churches study church and society questions from a theological and social-ethical perspective, especially those with a European dimension, and to represent common positions of the member churches in their relations with political institutions working in Europe.

For more information:
Church and Society Commission of CEC
Phone +32 2 230 17 32
Fax +32 2 231 14 13
e-mail: csc@cec-kek.be