The session, held in Budapest from 3-8 July, focused on renewing the organization's constitution, which was officially adopted on Sunday 7 July. According to the assembly website, the text was approved in English, but will not be officially published until the document is translated and legally checked in French and German.
The RCH, as a member church of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary, was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the assembly's logistical details. Six full-time RCH staff members were offered to the assembly as co-opted staff, and additionally, Zoltán Tarr volunteered as an advisor to the Revision Working Group. The RCH also coordinated a large group of Hungarian volunteers that provided local information throughout the week and worked in conjunction with the assembly stewards.
An RCH communication team even produced a short video for the assembly that put an emphasis on youth involvement in CEC and the meaning of the assembly's theme, "And now, what are you waiting for?"
Conclusion to the Message of the 14th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches
Arise and go! (Acts 22.16)
The question "What are you waiting for?" answers itself in the book of Acts with the imperative "Arise and go... calling on God's name". As such it is an imperative no longer to wait but to go and bear the fruits of the Spirit in the here and now. As we arise and depart from Budapest, we leave behind us the idea of waiting as a time of despair and indecisiveness. We bring with us the spirit of transformation, and go with hope for the renewal of our spiritual life, of our ecumenical journey, of our commitment to visible unity, of our ethos, of our politics, and of the whole creation. In this we are inspired not by ourselves but by the spirit of Christ who says, "See, I am making everything new!" (Revelation 21.5)
Amy Lester