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South Africa, Australia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Pakistan, Syria and Myanmar have provided the subjects for statements and minutes of concern voiced by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of public issues actions during a recent meeting of that governing body at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari, Greece.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) issued a public statement on 4 September calling for re-inscription of the French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the list of countries to be decolonized.

“Faith and Order has a long and significant history in the life of the ecumenical movement. Its two convergence texts, 'Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry' and now 'The Church: Towards a Common Vision', provide our member churches with the necessary theological tools towards the full communion of our common fellowship,” said Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima. Metropolitan Gennadios serves as vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee.

The first ecumenical affirmation of mission since 1982, invoking a new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst a changing world and ecclesial landscape, has been presented to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Renowned Christian leader and World Council of Churches (WCC) president Abune Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, passed away Thursday, 16 August, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

At the recent International AIDS Conference, ecumenical participants focused on the need to intensify churches’ efforts to support women trapped in societies marred with sexual and gender-based violence. There was also an emphasis on reducing stigma attached to HIV in communities.

Renowned biblical scholar and consultant for the Indigenous Peoples programme at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Maria Chavez Quispe passed away on 24 July in Liestal, Switzerland. Coming from the Methodist Church of Bolivia, Chavez was a committed advocate for inclusive communities. She fought a long battle with cancer.

Calle Almedal from Sweden has worked on issues of HIV since 1982. He is a former consultant for the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA), a project of the World Council of Churches. In an interview he speaks about HIV's impact on communities, the importance of education in sexual health and churches' responses to HIV.

"We support the struggle for human rights of the people of Papua. We urge an end to the ongoing violence and impunity. We support the call for social and economic justice through serious dialogue and a concrete political process that seeks to address root causes of the present problems," said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

"€œDiakonia is an essential ecclesial function. It must be prophetic and transformative. It cannot be opted only in convenient forms,"€ asserted participants of a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference, reflecting on "€œTheology of Diakonia for the 21st Century"€. The event took place from 2 to 6 June in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Bishop Moses Deng-Bol of Wau Diocese of the Episcopal Church in South Sudan, believes in a church that encourages forgiveness, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. In a recent interview he shared how churches in his country are trying to address issues presented by the HIV pandemic.

The new issue of International Review of Mission (IRM) presents the latest draft of a new WCC mission statement and invites wider participation in the process of developing it further for presentation to the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan in 2013.

Jessie Fubara-Manuel shares her views on violence, the HIV pandemic and struggles of women in churches to become part of the solution in Nigeria. She is a Presbyterian elder, a poet and a human resources consultant and has been involved with the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) programme.

Sunday, 25 March was a day full of moving and thought provoking experiences for the participants of a pre-assembly event of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, who spent half a day with a community living at a garbage dumpsite on the outskirts of Manila, Philippines.

The pre-assembly event of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) concluded in Manila on 27 March with spiritual reflections, prayer and a profound commitment to the churches' work on mission and evangelism.

Participants in the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism pre-assembly event bring concerns of the marginalized, including women, young people, Dalits, Indigenous Peoples and minorities into the heart of the debate on mission and evangelism.

The pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism saw churches' renewed commitment and different approaches to mission and evangelism in a context of rapid change in society, politics and church.

On 24 March 2012, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism pre-assembly event invoked renewed thinking and commitment on evangelism, disassociated from the forces of oppression, and grounded in humility and respect for all.

Transformative spiritualities and mission is a significant point of discussion at the pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) which is currently under way in Manila. Transformative spiritualities are also one of the constituent themes of the CWME statement on mission and evangelism that will be presented to the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Korea in 2013. Dr Rico Palaca Ponce, academic director of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia based in Quezon City, the Philippines, gave an interview on the topic on 23 March.

With more than 200 participants from around the globe, an event of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) starts today in Manila, the Philippines. Its aim is to seek renewed thinking on mission and evangelism, developing a draft of the WCC statement on mission and evangelism that succeeds a statement of thirty years ago.