In a series launched by IADB president Enrique Iglesias, the April meeting followed earlier meetings with the Roman Catholic Church and Jewish communities in the region. After the meeting - organized by the IADB and the WCC and jointly sponsored by the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and the Latin American Theological Fellowship (FTL) - church participants reported that while a number of prejudices and preconceptions had been cleared up, views on key issues continued to differ.

Stating its position in a paper entitled "Jubilee in a time of globalization", the 24-member church delegation called for an ethical revolution based on the biblical idea of Jubilee. Only such a revolution can change the present exploitation of nature and unjust distribution of economic resources, the paper said; Jubilee principles include responsible treatment of the environment, the right to life, good stewardship of material resources and the duty to do justice.

On the IADB side, senior officials shared information about the economic and social situation in Latin America and stressed the need to combat corruption. They also pointed out that social spending is not a major source of fiscal instability, but an essential investment in development. Among external factors aggravating poverty, the meeting identified the constant growth of foreign debt, falling prices for Latin American exports, protectionism in the developed countries and the uncontrolled flow of speculative capital.

Cancellation of foreign debt as urged by the church leaders was a point of disagreement. The IADB president insisted that cancellation would not eradicate poverty on the sub-continent. And when church leaders suggested that financial resources could be channelled through their congregations and organizations, the answer was that this could only be done by government agencies. Participants agreed, however, on the need to restore the ethical dimension in economic life and that that implies searching for new forms of cooperation in the fight against poverty. They suggested that churches cooperate with the IADB in defining policies and monitoring and evaluating bank programmes. The IADB for its part could train church members as facilitators for integrated development and help strengthen the churches’ service capacity.

This was one important outcome of the one-week study and exposure trip sponsored by the WCC. The young adult participants were introduced to the realities of the local situation through direct contacts with young people, political leaders, human-rights activists and members of local churches. They also attended a two-day seminar on the status of Jerusalem - a key issue in the Middle East peace process in that both Palestinians and Israelis claim Jerusalem as their capital and three religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) consider it their holy city.

The WCC has addressed the question of Jerusalem on numerous occasions since 1948. Its recent assembly in Harare (1998) reaffirmed the conviction that the three religions concerned "share responsibility to cooperate to ensure that Jerusalem be a city open to the adherents of all three". In addition, the assembly noted that "Jerusalem must remain an open and inclusive city" and that it "must be a shared city in terms of sovereignty and citizenship". At its last meeting, the central committee stressed that Christians have a responsibility "to pray and work for the peace of Jerusalem".

"Peace to the City" uses music, dance, song and poetry to tell the story of what churches and communities are doing to contribute to peace and reconciliation in their respective contexts. Sponsored by the WCC as part of its Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010), the production is based on local initiatives in seven cities and five continents in the WCC’s "Peace to the City" network.

Conceived by Brazilian artist and theologian Lusmarina Campos Garcia, the show involves two Brazilian groups: choreographer Marcia Milhazes' contemporary dance company, and the Aquarius music trio.

After the premiere at EXPO 2000 the production will tour churches, schools and theatres across Europe from 18 September to 2 October.

Next year the dance theatre goes on stage at the Church Women United assembly in Milwaukee (USA) in July, and then tours several US cities.