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October 9, 2007
New Web site celebrates Calvin anniversary jubilee
Ecumenical News International
GENEVA – The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches has launched an interactive Web site to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Protestant reformer Jean Calvin.
“We want Calvin to come alive for the people of our time through this Web site,” the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and chairperson of the Web site’s committee of patrons, said when the site was launched on Sept. 28.
The Web site www.calvin09.org presents in four languages a calendar of jubilee events worldwide, and information on Calvin’s life and teaching.
The Reformer was born on July 10, 1509 in Noyon in northern France, but is known worldwide for his role in the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, a once independent city-state that became part of Switzerland in 1815.
www.calvin09.org is the official Web site for the Calvin celebrations, and it is now running two competitions. The first invites musicians to compose a hymn for the anniversary year. The second challenges people to submit “the most interesting, substantial and catching sermon” that offers “new, surprising perspectives” on Calvin’s significance today.
Protestant churches around the world are planning a wide range of events to mark the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth.
“We are eager to receive information that can be shared through this Web site concerning the various events being planned all around the world to mark Calvin’s 500th birthday,” said Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “We hope and dream that www.calvin09.org will be as stimulating and relevant for the 21st century as the theology of John Calvin itself!”
The committee of patrons for the Web site is made up of 18 representatives from academic and church institutions. It includes, as co-chairpersons, Charlotte Kuffer, vice-president of the Protestant Church of Geneva, and the Rev. Thomas Wipf, president of the Swiss Protestant federation. |
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