VENUE: Holiday Inn O'Hare International, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, Illinois

WHO: The 270-member General Assembly meets annually. It is the primary legislative body of the NCC, whose 34 Protestant and Orthodox member denominations have, in turn, 52 million congregants.

Founded in 1950, the NCC is the nation's leading ecumenical organization and the locus for a wide array of ministries, including humanitarian assistance (through Church World Service), justice ministries, interfaith dialogue, education and the pursuit of greater Christian unity. (The NCC's 50-member Executive Board is a high-level "subset" of the Assembly.)

POTENTIAL STORIES:

• Teach-In on the Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century (Tuesday). The original "Pillars of Peace," adopted by churches in 1942, were instrumental in the founding of the United Nations. A proposed new NCC policy on the United Nations is based on the new pillars (first of two readings, Thursday).
• Reception of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church as the NCC's 35th member communion (Wednesday).
• "Toward the Far Horizon of Ecumenism: A Presentation and Dialogue on Pentecostalism Today," with special guest Dr. David Daniels, a minister in the Church of God in Christ and Professor of Church History, McCormick Theological Seminary (Wednesday).
• Celebration of the World Council of Churches' 50th Anniversary (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, First United Methodist Church, Evanston). The WCC's Second Assembly took place in Evanston in 1954.
• Interfaith Relations Policy Statement (first of two readings, Thursday).
• Presentations and resolutions national and global concerns, including global debt, public education, sanctions, Christian unity, racial justice and more.
• Ecumenical Interfaith Service Recognition Awards (Thursday).
• Greetings from local, national and international guests, including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches and partners in South Africa, Togo and Kenya.