Over 1,000 Religious Leaders Attend Ecumenical Advocacy Days in US

Nearly 1,300 religious advocates are expected to turn out for this year's Ecumenical Advocacy Days taking place 9-12 March in Washington, DC on the theme, "... and how are the children?"

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is one of nearly 50 religious groups and numerous Christian denominations sponsoring this fifth annual gathering of social justice advocates from around the US.

Focusing on issues affecting children, the 2007 theme will guide workshops and speakers in eight different areas of concern: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, domestic, jubilee and economic justice, eco-justice, and global security.

Experts will train participants on how to do advocacy, and inform them of US domestic and international policies that impact all of God's children. The gathering will conclude with a visit to Capitol Hill, where participants will ask their congressional representatives to make the needs of children the centre of the 2007 legislative agenda.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days coordinator Michael Neuroth says his hope for this year's edition is "that it will strengthen the ecumenical movement through a process of raising the voices of the US Christians on the ways their country's policy impact the plight of children around the world".

The initiative's mission statement characterises it as "a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognised partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation".

The WCC has participated in this annual event since 2004 through its New York-based UN liaison office and through the US Conference for the WCC.