"Tourism, while being a potent force for good, has sadly turned into an activity that leaves in its trail massive numbers of victims", says World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Samuel Kobia in a message on World Tourism Day, 27 September.

"The outcomes of the UN world summit, the largest gathering of heads of state in history, fall far short of the vision and the expectations of churches and people during this critical period in world history," said World Council of Churches' (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, speaking on the eve of the International Day of Prayer for Peace, 21 September.

Churches must take responsibility to nurture healing in broken societies and to promote peace, urged leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in public statements on Haiti and small arms released today.

Next February, twenty-six young leaders from the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) will come together in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to offer their experiences and challenges to the wider ecumenical movement.

In the lead-up to the 14-16 September 2005 United Nations World Summit, the World Council of Churches (WCC) has shared its views on a planned reform of the international body with the governments of the UK and China - the two nations which currently preside, respectively, over the G8, and the G77.

Calling on member churches and churches around the world to observe an International Day of Prayer for Peace on 21 September, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia observes that "Christian spirituality is not a call to retreat from social action and public life. As injustice and violence grow, […] we have all the more reason to pray with and for one another and for our world."

Reacting to the tragic events at Baghdad's Kadhimiya mosque on 31 August, which Iraqi authorities fear have claimed the lives of up to a thousand Muslim pilgrims, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia expressed the heartfelt condolences and deep sympathy felt by Christians worldwide at this loss of life.

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To fully evaluate the Gaza pullout, it is necessary to watch for a number of "signs of peace" in the months ahead, according to the international affairs unit of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Counting the 20 new volunteers who recently arrived in Jerusalem, the total number of people to have participated in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) has now passed the 200-mark, as the programme completes its third year of existence.