|TOP|The Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) met in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, for its annual meeting on Ascension Day and a special act of worship in St Columb’s Cathedral.

The Venerable Archdeacon Colin Williams, General Secretary of the CEC, delivered a sermon in which he stressed the importance of keeping Ascension Day as a holy day even though it is not held as a public holiday in Britain or other countries.

“We gather here as the Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches to make our assertion that the risen and ascended Christ is King and Lord of our continent", Archdeacon Williams said.

One of the focus issues during the annual gathering was the CEC’s preparations for the Third European Ecumenical Assembly which is running under the title, “The light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for renewal and unity in Europe”, and will culminate in Romania in September 2007.

“We long for the light of Christ to shine even in the darkest places of our continent,” said Archdeacon Williams.

|AD|Members of the CEC Central Committee also reflected on an appropriate role for the Conference in the area of mission and outreach “because we long for more and more people in our continent to acknowledge Christ as King and Lord of their lives,” said Archdeacon Williams.

The gathered delegates also visited the reconciliation centre at Corrymeela in order to “rejoice with those who work there in the stories they have to tell us of the power of Christ to break down the barriers which separate individuals and communities one from another”.

“We shall reflect on our work because we know that the Kingship of Christ will only fully be a reality in our continent when the stranger is welcome, when the poor and the marginalised are honoured, when Christians have learnt to live together as sisters and brothers,” said Archdeacon Williams.

The president of the CEC, the Rev Jean-Arnold de Clermont, also stated “that to be Christians in Europe means to carry in one's heart both the suffering and the hope of our Christian sisters and brothers in this land of Ireland."

Rev Clermont stressed the need for European churches to develop closer links with churches in other regions of the world like North America and the Middle East.