7th UEM General Assembly officially opened

The 7th General Assembly of the United Evangelical Mission has begun in Wuppertal Germany with an opening worship. In her sermon Vice Moderator Rev. Moderator Barbara Rudolph from the hosting Rhenish Church cited Psalm 8 "Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength." "Strength out of the mouth of babies. That is sometimes difficult to believe when we are confronted with child poverty, human trafficking and domestic violence. Children are often treated as objects, objects of decisions made by others." In this regard it is a special sign that God chose to come into our world as a baby", Rev. Rudolph said. In Jesus Christ children are no more objects, but subjects of his glory. The churches shall support them and their rights. UEM moderator Regine Buschmann officially declared the General Assembly opened and also mentioned the topic of the GA "Child Poverty and Human Trafficking": "It is indeed a fact that children are the most vulnerable in our societies and that child poverty is a reality in Asia, Africa and Germany. It has different forms in the regions, but it is there everywhere. What can we do against it as churches? Do we regard them as a priority?" These questions shall be discussed at the study day tomorrow.
This afternoon, the General Secretary gives his report to the GA which will discuss it afterwards. Some topics will be discussed in detail in the committee meetings on Friday. This evening the Rhenish church will welcome the delegates with a cultural evening. The delegates of the GA meet until Saturday. On Sunday they will visit worships in congregations of the Rhenish church.