Delegates attending the fifth Assembly of the World Council of Churches being held in Nairobi, were guests of President Jomo Kenyatta on Wednesday (3 December) at a garden party at State House.

The delegates were entertained with a number of tribal songs and dances in a programme which featured Embu drummers, Luo dancers and Masai girl.

The Assembly, meeting for the first time in Africa, got down to work on 24 November following a colourful opening ceremony attended by most of the 2,300 delegates and observers.

It is believed that the Council is facing a financial crisis in the coming year and this has been the topic of discussion for a special committee set up by the Assembly.

Dr. Philip Potter, General Secretary of the Council, was quoted as saying that budget cuts would have to be made in the organisation.

The Council's deficit for the current year is expected to be 960,000 Swiss francs (175,000 sterling). This could be met from special reserves but the picture for 1976 is grim.

The climax of the first week of the Assembly's work was a speech by Jamaica's Prime Minster Michael Manley who spoke on liberation from "the shackles of domination and oppression".

Another highlight of the Assembly was an agreement by African delegates that the Programme to Combat Racism must be continued and even strengthened.

At the same time, the Africa delegates expressed concern about foreign intervention in Angola. They urged the Council to intensify its efforts to make contact with the churches there in an effort to influence the course of events.

SYNOPSIS: Delegates to the World Council of Churches Fifth Assembly, being held in Nairobi, were guests of President Jomo Kenyatta at a garden party at State House on Wednesday. The delegates were entertained with a number of tribal songs and dances in a programme which featured Embu drummers, Lue dancers and Masai girls. It was a welcome break for the 2,300 delegates and observers who spent the previous ten days working through piles of papers and countless committee meetings. The Assembly which was being held in Africa for the first time was urged by African delegates to continue and even strengthen the Council's Programme to Combat Racism.

During the garden party, President Kenyatta devote much of his time to Dr. Philip Potter, General Secretary of the Council. Dr. Potter had told the Assembly a few days earlier that budget cuts would have to be made in the organisation. The Council's deficit for the current year is expected to be almost one million Swiss francs or more than one hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds sterling. The deficit could be met from special reserves this year but the prospects for 1976 are grim.