The World Council of Churches' (WCC's) 9th assembly in February 2006, decided that the 2001-2010 Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) would end with an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC)".
The assembly also called for "wide consultation ... toward developing an ecumenical declaration on 'just peace'".
This consultative process leading up to the IEPC allows for broad participation with many entry points, and covers a wide spectrum of thematic and methodological approaches.
The Convocation will take place on 17 - 25 May 2011 at Kingston in Jamaica. It will be a "harvest festival" celebrating the achievements of the Decade to Overcome Violence which began in 2001. At the same time it encourages individuals and churches to renew their commitment to nonviolence, peace and justice.
One way of supporting it will be mark World Sunday for Peace:
On Sunday, 22 May 2011, churches in every corner of the world are invited to celebrate God’s gift of peace. A peace prayer written by the Caribbean hosts of the IEPC is currently being translated into many languages.
Mission statement
The IEPC aims at witnessing to the peace of God as a gift and responsibility of the oikumene. It seeks to assess and strengthen the church's position on peace, provide opportunities for networking and deepen our common commitment to processes of reconciliation and peace.
There is a page of suggestions about how anyone can support the IEPC. I would like to hear from any British Methodist who is likely to attend and might write some posts for this blog.
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