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The leaders of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches met 24-27 May in Targoviste, Romania, to discuss cooperation in peace building and the ecumenical challenge and opportunity posed by migrants and refugees.

The first World Conference on “Religions, Creeds and Value Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights” will be held on 25 June 2018 under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan. It will mark a new conceptual departure towards expanding the boundaries of the convergence of values, which bring the world of religions and faiths together.

The 8th International Conference of Orthodox faculties, just held in Thessaloniki, Greece, is expected to contribute to the interpretation and reception of the 2016 “Holy and Great Council” of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

The 2018 Ecumenical Jury recognized two films in the Cannes Film Festival. The first, “Capharnaum,” by Nadine Labaki from Lebanon, portrays women and children, immigrants and outcasts, who have shown by their perseverance and ingenuity, love and courage, the full possibility of the human spirit.

In a video message viewed by more than 1, 790 000 people, leaders in various USA-based churches are urging people to “reclaim Jesus” and reject narrow nationalistic and racist ideas.

The third meeting of the Ecumenical Panel on a New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) is underway in New York City from 21-23 April.

On 19 April, the World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed recent initiatives to establish meaningful and constructive dialogue between the United States of America and North Korea.

Traveling from Tanzania, Esther Ngulwa brought a sense of hope regarding gender equality as she spoke on 10 March, two days before the start of the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) in New York City.

“Is our notion of discipleship inclusive of those who exist in the marginal spaces of our world?”, asked Adi Mariana Waqa, the keynote speaker of a plenary on the theme of mission from the margins at the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME).

During a visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on 16 February, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke on an “ecumenism of action” as he also congratulated the WCC on its 70th anniversary.

Charlottesville in Virginia hit world headlines in 2017 during clashes between white supremacists and neo-Nazis who attacked protestors, including clergy, calling for the removal of a controversial statue.

The Meeting on the Implementation of the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes will take place in the Vienna International Center, United Nations Office in Vienna, from 13-15 February 2018.

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser has been on an ecumenical journey for most of his adult life, which spans 80 years. The former WCC general secretary relates some of this pilgrimage in his newest publication, “The Challenge of Transformation: An Ecumenical Journey.” On 5 February, shortly after Raiser’s birthday, ecumenical experts from different generations, confessions and continents met in Geneva to discuss the newest publication by the man who led the WCC from 1993 to 2003.

On 22 January, the World Council of Churches, together with the ACT Alliance, General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and Responsibility to Protect, and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force with Faith Based Organizations, co-organized the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) in International Affairs with the theme “Perspectives on migration: displacement and marginalization, inclusion and justice”.

On 24 January, a music-filled, lively service at the Ecumenical Centre chapel celebrated both the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches.

It’s 70 years since the World Council of Churches was founded in Amsterdam on 23 August. In addition to a commemoration service in Amsterdam on 23 August, the WCC, its member churches and partners are planning a variety of events to move forward on our ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, and at the same time honour and learn from these 70 years of ecumenical endeavour. Dr Abuom, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, is the moderator of the WCC Central Committee. She is the first woman and the first African in the position in WCC’s history. In an interview, she reflects on the evolution of the WCC in the past 70 years.

An ecumenical service described as “A Service to Mark the 500th anniversary of the 95 Theses and the Start of the Reformation” was held in Westminster Abbey, London, on 31 October.

Church and political leaders have marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany where on 31 October 1517 he published his 95 Theses denouncing church abuses.

Douglas Leonard, from the Reformed Church in America (RCA), was announced as the new coordinator of the Ecumenical United Nations Office (EUNO), a joint working space of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance, in New York.

A consultation with the theme “Ecumenical Perspective on the Role of Women in the Churches” brought together 28 women and men to the Monastero di Bose in northern Italy from 3-7 October.