Evangelical Leaders to Attend Meeting

WASHINGTON — A six-member delegation of evangelical leaders within the nation’s mainline Protestant churches will attend the upcoming assembly of the World Council of Churches in hopes of changing what it sees as the liberal direction of the 50-year-old global ecumenical body.

Members of the Assn. of Church Renewal, many of them longtime critics of the council, announced their plans at a news conference this week. Delegates from churches around the world who are members of the World Council will meet at the group’s Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, Dec. 3-14.

Diane Knippers, vice chair of the association, said the appeal aims to challenge the World Council of Churches to reaffirm its Christian identity rather than lose its voice as other groups--including evangelicals and Orthodox--seek other routes to foster Christian unity.