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Worship Worldwide

Reformed Ecumenical Council assembly in Utrecht, the Netherlands
July 12-26, 2005

The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) unites and serves over ten million believers in 39 Reformed and Presbyterian denominations found in 25 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. The REC has four commissions for the following ministry areas: (1), the commission for Youth and Christian Nurture; (2) the commission for Theological Education and Interchange; (3) the commission for Mission and Diakonia; and (4) the commission for Human Relations. Each of these commissions is assigned its tasks and reports to an Assembly of delegates from each member denomination who gather every four years in different locations around the world.   

The 2005 Assembly took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands at the Protestant National Service Center (Protestants Landelijk Dienstencentrum - PLD) of the Protestant Church in The Netherlands. A team of worship leaders from Calvin College and Seminary, including eight CICW staff members, attended the quadrennial assembly, where they led all 160 delegates and guests in daily morning worship around the theme “I will be with you always.” Ten global worship services were developed around this promise as we journeyed through Biblical themes such as Identity, Remembrance, and Assurance, as well as Biblical events beginning with meditating upon the Incarnation to celebrating Pentecost.  

In addition to leading daily worship, the worship team attended sessions of the assembly, and joined the delegates on various national excursions and church visits planned and hosted by our hospitable Dutch brothers and sisters of the Protestant Church in The Netherlands.

Related Resources

. View slide presentation of REC Assembly 2005

. Read the Worship Team’s weblog entries posted from Utrecht

. Read "Love Globally, Worship Locally: How to do church as members of one body," the Vital Worship Feature story on REC Assembly 2005 by Joan Huyser-Honig

. View more slides by visiting the website of Leslie Veen.

Photographs by members of the Worship Team, Rich van Houten, and Naji Umran
Text provided by Anne Zaki
* All rights reserved. Photographs may not be reproduced without prior written permission.