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Looking toward their graduation ceremony scheduled for 26 January, students at the World Council of Churches Bossey Ecumenical Institute are set to expand their encounters with the ecumenical world.

In a first-ever online visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC), members of the Focolare Movement gathered on 14 January in place of what, until COVID-19 prevented it, has annually been a joyful in-person gathering.

Even as nations continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, final preparations are under way for one of the world’s largest annual prayer observances, traditionally celebrated 18-25 January. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity involves Christian communities from many traditions and all parts of the globe. At a time when public health concerns put a limit on physical gatherings, it provides an opportunity for churches to come together by means of a typically Christian practice that long predates modern transport: prayer.

As the years change over the World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca on 31 December condemned the vicious Yemen attack hitting civilians. Sauca also expressed solidarity and prayers with churches and responders who continue to help hundreds of injured and traumatized people of the earthquake in Croatia and Norway landslide.

In the midst of the nationwide lockdown, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Germany finds new ways to connect people in its congregations. It encourages all people to step out on balconies or come together by open windows, at 8 pm on Christmas Eve, and let their voices ring out loud in the Christmas carol "Silent Night.”

The new surge in COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths has drastically increased the need for pastoral care almost everywhere. Brazil and Great Britain are two hard-hit countries, where the pandemic has brought existential questions on the table.  

The Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau has commemorated its decision 50 years ago to fund the Programme to Combat Racism of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in the face of widespread public criticism, as a continuing obligation to oppose all forms of racism and inhumanity.

In a 23 November letter to Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca urged the protection of religious and cultural monuments the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh region.

In a letter of condolence to the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed sadness at the passing of His Holiness Patriarch Irinej, head of Orthodox Church of Serbia.

The WCC executive committee issued a statement calling for calm and wisdom following six weeks of intense fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, suspended by an agreement announced between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. Welcoming an end to the bloodshed and destruction, the executive committee appealed for “a lasting peace founded on justice and human rights for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and the wider region.”

Germany’s main Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have announced plans for a campaign to be launched in January 2021 to encourage Christians to take a clear stand against increasing antisemitism, recognizing it also has Christian roots.

A new Facebook profile frame developed by the WCC is helping people express their support for the upcoming “16 Days against Gender-Based Violence.”

As the 30 November application deadline approaches for the Bossey Ecumenical Institute academic year 2021-22, Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi, dean, reflects on the institute’s heart of ecumenical formation and education.