FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Two Well-Known Ecumenists To Receive Awards

Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former Director of the National Council of Churches, and Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSC, former Associate Director of the Secretariat on Ecumenism at the Catholic Bishops Conference, will receive awards on February 4th for making a significant contribution to ecumenism.

The awards will be presented by the Washington Theological Consortium, a group of 18 seminaries and related institutions in the Washington, D.C. region, at a 5:00 p.m. prayer service at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, 1301 North Hartford Street, in Arlington, Virginia.

Rev. Campbell, who is currently the Director of the Department of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution, is an ordained minister in both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the American Baptist Church. She has spent more than 30 years in the ecumenical interfaith movement. She has led peace missions to the Middle East, and helped secure the release of three American soldiers held captive in Serbia. In 2000, she played a major role in efforts to resolve a politically charged battle that placed Elian Gonzalez, a 6-year old Cuban boy, at the center of a custody dispute between his father in Cuba and his relatives in Miami.

Jeffrey Gros, a member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, is well-known in the ecumenical movement for broadening the reach of ecumenism. He has written widely in theological journals and periodicals, has edited numerous books on ecumenism, and has spoken on the subject to various religious and educational groups throughout the world. He served for ten years as Director of Faith and Order for the National Council of Churches, and 14 years at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Brother Jeffrey, who holds a Ph.D. in Theology from Fordham University, is currently a professor of Church History at Memphis Theological Seminary.

The Consortium awards are given annually in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year celebrates its 100th Anniversary. The Week of Prayer is held from January 18-25 each year, and the Consortium awards follow in early February.

For more information about the Washington Theological Consortium, go to http://www.washtheocon.org/home.html. For more information about the event:

Contact: Marguerite Connolly

Phone: 202-832-2675; Email: marguerite@washtheocon.org