Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
OAKLAND, Calif. (NCC) -- A Portland, Ore., Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister has been named to head Church World Service, the relief, development and refugee assistance ministry of the National Council of Churches (NCC).
The Rev. Rodney I. Page, executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon since 1982, will assume his new responsibilities April 1. He was elected CWS executive director Nov. 14 by the NCC Executive Coordinating Committee, meeting here in conjunction with the NCC's annual General Board meeting Nov. 15-17.
The New York City-based Church World Service supports partner denominations and agencies in more than 70 countries, including the United States. Its 1994 expense budget was nearly $49 million. About 40 percent of its income is raised through community and public appeals, including CWS/CROPWALKS and other events. The Disciples of Christ supports CWS through Week of Compassion, the denomination's relief and development ministry.
Page also will direct the NCC's Church World Service and Witness Unit, in which Church World Service is lodged. The unit includes justice, peacemaking and human rights ministries, advocacy on development policy and education on global issues. The NCC's 33 member Protestant and Orthodox denominations work cooperatively through CWS and CWSW.
An NCC official said Page was chosen for his management expertise and commitment to global and domestic peace, justice and social service demonstrated during his long and successful leadership of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, a statewide agency with 17 cooperating denominations. Fifteen new programs have been added under Page's leadership.
Page grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and earned bachelor's and master of divinity degrees from Drake University in Des Moines and Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas. He was a campus minister at Portland State University before joining the staff of the Greater Portland Council of Churches, which later became part of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. Page was associate director of the Oregon ecumenical council from 1973-82.
Page will succeed the Rev. R. Lawrence Turnipseed, interim executive director of Church World Service since 1993 and a longtime CWS staffer.
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