Thursday [29 August]

The third day of the General Assembly

Thursday begins again at 08:30 with morning worship in the Reformed Church, this time on the second word of the motto: “Christ”. The spiritual impulse on this day will be organised by the CEPPLE (Conférence des Eglises protestantes des Pays latins d’Europe). Regional languages are welcome.

After the subsequent introduction to the day by the stewards at 09:15, the work on texts continues in plenary. Based on the proposals from the groups and the decision of the plenary, the next step is to vote on whether these documents will be passed on to the sending churches. At 11:20 a.m., the only presentation of the plenary session will be the keynote speech by Dr Christine Schließer from the University of Fribourg/CH with the title “Gimme Hope! Towards a new Theology of Hope”. After midday prayer (12:40) and lunch (1 pm), the delegates will be able to comment on the ongoing thematic work of the CPCE in focus groups at 2:30 pm in the Gymnasium. The following topics will be discussed: “Participation of Young People”, “European Institutions and the Protestant Churches in Europe”, “Worship”, “Church Development”, “Church Fellowship as a Community of Solidarity” and also “Migration and Church Fellowship”.  The groups will decide whether some of the topics discussed should be incorporated into the work of the coming years.

Then, after the break at 4 pm, the business plenary session begins (4:30 pm). This is the time of the first ballot for the Council. Whether it will be the last, however, is uncertain. This is also the time for initial motions, greetings and statements.

At 6 pm, the host churches are looking forward to introducing the delegates to their world. They will do this by organising an evening in the Thalia Philharmonic Hall (Str. Cetatii 3-5). The host CPCE bishops and other participants from the local churches are expected to attend.  You can look forward to the programme. Transylvanian food is guaranteed to be delicious!