Calling to mind the suffering extreme poverty inflicts on our sisters and brothers in the world's poorest nations,

Knowing that the foreign debt of these nations intensifies this suffering by requiring governments to reduce spending on health care, education and other vital services in order to make payments on the debt,

Realizing that the origins of this debt lie in a combination of political, economic and environmental factors for which both borrowers and lenders are responsible,

Acknowledging that each year the Third World pays the West 3 times more in debt repayments than it receives in aid, *

Admitting that much of this debt can never be repaid but is of the sort that, under U.S. domestic law, would be cancelled by bankruptcy,

Recognizing that debt reduction is a necessary though not sufficient action to end poverty,

Aware of the symbolic power of this historic moment, as we cross from the second into the third millennium after the birth of Jesus,

Remembering the biblical practice of proclaiming Jubilee every 50 years (Lev. 25),

Affirming the call of Pope John Paul II to celebrate the Year 2000 as a Great Jubilee, his reminder that, "Jesus came to 'preach good news to the poor'," and his suggestion that the Jubilee Year, a year to restore social justice, is a good time for us "to lay greater emphasis on the Church's preferential option for the poor and the outcast…to raise (our) voices on behalf of all the poor of the world….(and) to give thought…to reducing substantially, if not canceling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations," ** and

Confessing our faith in the Triune God, who created us all in the divine image, gave each of us equal dignity and value, and desires that we live in just and caring community with one another,

The Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Council of Churches, in solidarity with the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches and many other ecumenical organizations, denominations and religious communities:

Supports the cancellation of the debts of the world's poorest nations,

Endorses the International Jubilee 2000 Campaign,

Urges those working for debt cancellation to give serious consideration to the conditions for cancellation suggested by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1997. ***

Requests WCC staff to keep member judicatories informed of the progress of the Campaign, to publish information about the Campaign in WCC publications and to encourage support of it,

Requests leaders and staff of member judicatories to disseminate information on the debt crisis and the Jubilee 2000 Campaign through judicatory publications, annual meetings and other appropriate channels and to encourage congregations to study the debt crisis and consider supporting the Jubilee 2000 Campaign,

Encourages the churches of Wisconsin to consider the significance of the Bible's vision of Jubilee for the Church's witness in the contemporary struggle for social justice, especially as we enter a new millennium,

Supports Proclaim Jubilee: Break the Chains of Debt, Bread for the World's 1999 Offering of Letters, and requests the WCC and its member judicatories to disseminate information about and encourage participation in this action ****

Challenges congregations, member judicatories and the WCC itself to consider how they might better practice Jubilee principles in the service of economic justice, including the cancellation of debt if appropriate,

Commends this effort and all our work in behalf of God's Shalom into the hands of God, who is gracious and desires the well being of all.