“We believe in change and ask that you continue to pray for us.” This was the message an international team of church representatives heard again and again, as they visited people and churches in Myanmar recently.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) invites us all to read, digest and reflect on the 2010 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic and to join in the vision: “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

After Sook (not her real name), a young woman from North Korea, gave her testimony during the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town many were moved to tears. They had just witnessed – in their midst – the tragic face of suffering.

The third Congress of the Lausanne Movement has been meeting in Cape Town, South Africa since the beginning of this week. Delegates from 200 countries have been discussing evangelism in diverse contexts, styles and cultures. The theme of the event is “God in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Tuesday 19 October 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the Faith and Order movement. “Faith and Order” seeks Christian unity through theological dialogue among representatives of various churches.

Ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories with boycott and divestment would be like “snails confronting a tsunami,” David Wildman, executive secretary for Human Rights and Racial Justice, general board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church in the United States, said last week during the United Nations Advocacy Week organized by the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

Can there be free and fair elections in Nigeria? “Free and fair elections are possible,” said Archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen from the Methodist Church in Nigeria. “What needs to be in place is a government that abides with the constitutional laws.”

What is at stake in Gaza? This was the title question posed to panelists speaking on the morning of Wednesday 29 September before approximately 120 participants in the United Nations Advocacy Week organized by the World Council of Churches. The public discussion was moderated by George Hazou, chairman of the Middle East Council of Churches’ central committee.

The leader of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus said his church is looking forward to the future leadership role that the WCC will play within the wider ecumenical community. The comment was made during a 23-27 September visit to the church by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, the WCC general secretary, since January 2010.

“We will not have the peace we are looking for if we continue to practice negative solidarity,” said the Rev. Dr Johnson Mbillah while addressing participants of the WCC UN Advocacy Week on Tuesday 28 September.