Sri Lanka's "forgotten war": a call for global church advocacy

In Sri Lanka, the conflict between the army and Tamil rebels has caught the civilian population between a rock and a hard place. Although the world turns a blind eye, Christian global advocates say churches should insist that attention be paid to victims caught in the violence.

Securing water for all: a job for heroes with a licence to pray?

World cinema's most famous spy is back and this time he fights a villain trying to control strategic water resources in a developing country. Is the script of the latest James Bond movie too far fetched a fictional plot?

People in northern Uganda are ready to forgive the LRA rebels

With its streets full of bicycle riders transporting luggage or passengers alongside mini buses, Gulu in northern Uganda looks as peaceful as any small African town. However, its inhabitants, who say now they want nothing but peace, have to come to terms with the terrible crimes that were committed here during 22 years of civil war.

Ugandan churches concerned over final peace agreement, international team learns

Guns have fallen silent in northern Uganda since the signing of a permanent ceasefire. Yet, church leaders are worried about the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) delaying the signature of the final peace agreement, they told an international ecumenical delegation visiting the country.

Anti-Christian violence in Orissa reverberates at CNI Synod

The Church of North India (CNI), which is currently going through the hardest times in its history, with many church members suffering persecution, has demonstrated its unity at its 17-21 October synod meeting in Pathankot, Punjab state.

"Christianity is part of our national heritage" Indian prime minister tells Kobia

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh observed that "Christianity is part of our national heritage" when Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), called on him on 18 October at his residence in New Delhi.

Women in Christian-Muslim dialogue want to break down stereotypes

Can women play a strong role in bringing reconciliation and tolerance to the communities in conflict? Can divisions and divides be resolved from a faith-based perspective, when religion often is considered a cause of violence?

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.

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.