CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Ruth J. Sovik, 71, a former deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Jan. 12 in Minneapolis after a long illness. Sovik and her husband, the Rev. Arne B. Sovik, were retired and living in Minneapolis at the time of her death.
The World Council of Churches, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a Christian organization with 337 member churches worldwide, including the ELCA.
Sovik's life was marked by a long-term and dedicated involvement in the ecumenical movement, the WCC said in a news release.
Sovik was appointed one of three WCC deputy general secretaries in 1985 at the organization's Central Committee meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She held the position until she retired in 1991. As WCC deputy general secretary, Sovik served as staff moderator for the Unit on Justice and Service, one of three program arms in the previous WCC structure.
As deputy general secretary, her responsibilities also included relief aid, disaster assistance, refugee assistance, international affairs, women's programs and efforts to combat racism, said her nephew, Martin Sovik.
Sovik devoted considerable energy to a significant WCC emphasis, the "Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation" program. She described her work in this area as "challenging, extremely interesting, extremely satisfying," the WCC said in its release.
"If the churches can truly work together on some of the issues that plague the world -- and threaten to plague it to death -- we have in our hands astonishing riches, a tremendous strength, an enormous respectability to put at the service of those issues, plus vast resources of trained and experienced leadership which could make all the difference in the world's having a future at all," Sovik once said, according to the WCC release.
Prior to 1985 Sovik served two years as general secretary of the World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and was its associate general secretary from 1980 to 1983.
From 1978 to 1980, Sovik was deputy director of the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). From 1965 to 1967, and again in 1973, she was editorial assistant, and later managing editor, for "International Review of Mission," CWME's periodical.
Sovik, born in Fargo, N.D., was a graduate of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
She was married to Arne Sovik since 1949. Arne Sovik, a retired ELCA pastor, once served as director of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department of World Missions and was executive secretary of the Board of World Missions of the former Lutheran Church in America. He later returned to the LWF to head a project to investigate relations between Christians and Marxists, especially those in mainland China. The ELCA is a member of the LWF.
Besides her husband, Sovik is survived by daughter Liv Sovik of Salvador, Brazil, and sons Nathan Sovik, Slidell, La., and Nord Sovik, New Orleans. A funeral service for Sovik was held at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
