What steps must we take to achieve transformation? In this article on the Assembly theme "God, in your grace, transform the world", His All Holiness Bartholomew I addresses this question and reflects on self-discovery, the healing of the community and of the earth.

"Dismayed and concerned" about the "recent lethal escalation of armed violence" in the North and East of Sri Lanka, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia wrote on 20 January to the country's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The marks of ecumenical spirituality are "readiness to rethink and to be converted" and willingness "to bear the otherness of the other, including refugees, people of another colour and other faiths, the old and the poor - all God's people," said Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia yesterday, the first day of the 2006 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The large worship tent at the World Council of Churches (WCC) 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre will be a unique space and one of the main features of the Assembly life.

On 18-19 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will pay his first official visit to the churches of the country that is home to the headquarters of the WCC.

"A world without poverty is not only possible but is in keeping with the grace of God for the world" affirms a call that will play a central role at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Porto Alegre, 14-23 February.

Transformation has become almost a cliché. Everything needs to be transformed: individual lives, cultures, economies, societies… all. But it is not often that God or grace are named in this context.

If Mary and Joseph had to get to Bethlehem this year, they would find themselves confronted with a 9-metre high concrete wall and a sophisticated, high-tech checkpoint.

:: Seminar on UN reform in New York :: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity :: Kobia to meet churches and government officials in Bern

"Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" from Matt. 18:20 is the theme of the 2006 edition of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was chosen by an ecumenical group in Ireland.