Marking "Creation Day," Ecumenical Patriarch stresses need for environmental ethic

The spiritual and moral dimensions of climate change are best shown by how it affects the poorest and most vulnerable, says the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in a message marking 1 September as a day of prayer for God's creation.

Muslim and Christian women to explore religious contributions to peace

Some twenty Christian and Muslim women will meet 4-7 September in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of a dialogue process labelled "Moving towards peace through religion". Hosted by the Diocese of Gothenburg of the Church of Sweden, the meeting follows one held last year in Teheran. The initiative is co-organized by the Iranian Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (IID) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Ceremonies, books and broadcasts mark the WCC 60th anniversary

"Stating that in seeking Christ they found each other, the 147 churches that sixty years ago came together in Amsterdam, Netherlands committed themselves afresh to Christ and covenanted with one another in constituting the World Council of Churches (WCC)," said the Council's general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia as he prepared to leave for a commemorative event to be held at the location where the WCC was officially founded 60 years...

Education and dialogue as antidotes to extremism in Indonesia

Just a few days after an ecumenical team representing the World Council of Churches (WCC) ended its visit to once conflict-ridden communities in Indonesia on 24 July, some Muslims reportedly stormed a Protestant school in the capital Jakarta and 265 students were injured.

Another report said that thousands of Christians took to the street in Jayapura, capital of the Indonesian province of Papua, on 5 August to protest against the introduction...

Inter-religious youth group celebrates open debate

During a youth interfaith seminar outside Geneva last month some participants realized the religious differences are usually smaller than imagined and cultural differences are often more significant than expected.

Ecumenical bodies call for ceasefire, negotiations and urgent relief in the Caucasus region

A public statement from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) has called for prayers and assistance for those affected by the recent conflict in the Caucasus. The war began five days ago and despite its brevity has already killed hundreds of people, displaced thousands others and severely damaged homes, buildings and property in several cities.

Water for all: young Christians study defence of this precious resource

"Water has no colour, no race, no nationality, it is the same all over the world," according to Rania Flavie Tourma, an Orthodox Christian from Syria. So to her, it was perfectly natural that people from around the world gathered near Geneva, Switzerland at the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) Summer School on Water to unite in defence of this natural resource.

"A Common Word" letter sparks a series of dialogues among Christians and Muslims

A recent dialogue held in late July at Yale University in the United States brought together Muslim and Christian scholars, intellectuals, academics and religious leaders from the United States and around the world. The event was one of a series of dialogues organized in response to the October 2007 open letter "A Common Word" sent by 138 Muslim scholars to Christians around the world. The letter invited them to dialogue about what...

Despite poverty, seeds of hope bud in Indonesia

On a recent travel to Indonesia, a "Living Letters" team representing the member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) discovered seeds of hope for a world without violence. In Sulawesi, the Moluccas, West Timor and other islands they saw how the churches were working side by side with their communities and those of other faiths to bring peace and the improvement of all people.

Global campaign to promote "HIV-competent" churches

Representatives of ecumenical organizations meeting in advance of the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City vowed to launch a global campaign to help churches become competent in dealing with the HIV and AIDS pandemic.