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In an address to the general assembly of Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy in Rome on 16 November, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed gratitude for those who help refugees and migrants. At the same time, Tveit mourned the nearly 2,000 people who have died or are missing while trying to make the journey to reach the Mediterranean in the first ten months of 2018.

At the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema, held 6-11 November, the film “Ayka” won an Interfilm award for giving a face to the faceless and helping the audience discover the sufferings of the marginalized.

The WCC Executive Committee met in Uppsala, Sweden from 1-8 November to approve the 2019 programme plans and budget, follow up and decide on a variety of assembly matters, review the WCC strategic plan, discuss world affairs and issue seven statements in response to current situations. The Executive Committee also discerned the way forward for the WCC’s Communication Strategy.

“We are united in a pact of love, that encourages us to live in such a way that Christian unity is not only a dream, but may come closer each day,” said His Eminence Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, archbishop of Bangkok and Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Addolorata, as 40 bishops from 18 churches in 12 different countries gather in Sigtuna, Sweden, this week.

Fifty years after its assembly in Uppsala, Sweden, decisively turned to public engagement, the WCC still seeks to engage and address issues of public concern and the common good.

The WCC has commended the work of churches around the world that welcome and support migrants and refugees, even as it has warned the international community against racist or xenophobic political responses.

The WCC’s executive committee has welcomed recent reconciliations in Ethiopia and Eritrea. In a statement issued from its 2-8 November meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, the committee also invited further support from member churches for further efforts there.

In a sermon in the Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden on 4 November, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit remembered that, on 4 July 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. should have entered the very same cathedral to preach at the opening service of the WCC Fourth Assembly.

A lifetime of devotion to the ecumenical movement shone when WCC moderator Dr Agnes Abuom shared her reflections and hopes Sunday morning in a keynote speech on the final day of the ecumenical weekend. Her address was followed by a sermon in the Uppsala Cathedral by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Unity and solidarity in Christ against populist trends was at the core of the opening message for an Ecumenical Weekend in Uppsala, Sweden on 3-4 November. Under the theme ”Behold, I make everything new!”, 150 guests gathered to reflect on current challenges for ecumenism.

WCC moderator Dr Agnes Abuom was awarded the Plaque of Saint Eric by Church of Sweden primate Archbishop Antje Jackelén on 3 November.

“We look forward to working closely with you in the fulfillment of people’s hopes and needs worldwide to the glory of the one God”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a message of greeting to Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, elected moderator of the governing board of ACT Alliance, on 31 October, in Uppsala, Sweden.

More than 220 church leaders representing over 20 churches from Belgium, France, Luxemburg and Switzerland are meeting from 27-31 October in the French city of Lyon for the first Francophone Christian Forum.

Maryland-based, Ghanaian-born Rev. Dr Casely Essamuah was in February selected as secretary of the Global Christian Forum. Originally ordained in the Methodist Church in Ghana, he began his work officially in July. This week he made a study visit to the WCC and the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva and the WCC was able to converse with him.

At a Conference on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination on 22 October in Rome, Archbishop Emeritus Dr Anders Wejryd, current WCC president for Europe, spoke with a focus on the origins and solutions to discrimination based on religion and belief.

Joint commitment and action for children on the move were at the heart of discussions as representatives of religious communities and faith-based organizations gathered in Rome on 16-18 October.

Religious leaders from across the globe gather in Rome on 16-18 October, to address the situation of children on the move.

The Bridge Group, a working group of the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), was established during the WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Arusha, Tanzania in March.

Participants in an international conference on “The Holy Scripture in a Changing World,” held in Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia from 27 September-1 October released a communiqué describing their experience and insights.

The Romani people, also known as the Roma, migrated from northwest India 1,500 years ago. Once they arrived in Europe, they spread across the continent from the Balkan region. Now Romani live worldwide, though principally in Europe.