Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network Begins

The Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) has begun on 4th May 2005 in Basel, Switzerland. The ECEN is closely linked to Conference of European Churches (CEC), which ensures its secretariat.

The theme of the assembly is "The Churches' contribution to a sustainable Europe". According to organisers, the "quest for sustainability receives less attention than in previous decades" and it is hoped that "the Assembly will address the present challenges in a statement."

The preparation for this theme was commenced by the Enabling Team at its meeting from November 11-14 2004. The assembly aims to provide the opportunity to exchange and to deepen the findings of various ECEN working groups, such as the groups on Creation Time, Climate Change, Motorised Mobility, Church Eco-Management, Water and Education and Sustainable Development.

The assembly is hosted by local Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in the Basel Missionshaus (House of Mission.) More than 130 participants are attending from all over Europe. The program includes several public events, such as a plenary on the Assembly theme, ecumenical work on environmental issues and panel discussions on ecological tax reform and on the theme "Does Europe live far beyond its means?"

Among the speakers are people from the political life of Europe (Margrete Auken, Denmark, member of the European Parliament; Dr Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, German MP; Maya Graf, Swiss MP) as well as from Church sphere (Dr Keith Clements, General Secretary of CEC; Mgr Aldo Giordano, General Secretary of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences) among many others.

The Assembly will conclude on Sunday night on the 8th May but starting the next day, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will have a meeting to prepare for the WCC Assembly at Puerto Allegre in 2006. This meeting of international group of around 25 participants is "the opportunity to share the findings of our Assembly on a sustainable Europe with this wider audience and perhaps correct some of our perspectives in the light of their reaction," the organisers expressed.

An affiliated exhibition on the churches' contribution to a sustainable Europe is taking place in the Offene Kirche Elisabethen, opened from May 3 to 29, 2005.