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The WCC says it is grateful that the churches of the Union of Utrecht, the Philippine Independent Church, and the Episcopal Church have embarked on a study about Globalization and Catholicity.

Filipina church emergency programme manager Minnie Anne M. Calub looks to the prophet Isaiah for inspiration in rebuilding her country after the worst recorded typhoon smote her nation of islands in November 2013.

Deeply concerned for migrants in many regions, especially those “driven to undertake journeys of desperate risk and danger”, the WCC Executive Committee has declared: “All members of the international community have a moral and legal duty to save the lives of those in jeopardy at sea or in transit, regardless of their origin and status.”

Profondément inquiet pour les migrants dans de nombreuses régions du monde, en particulier ceux qui «sont motivés à entreprendre des périples désespérément risqués et dangereux», le Comité exécutif du COE a déclaré: «Tous les membres de la communauté internationale ont une obligation morale et légale de sauver la vie des personnes en danger en mer ou en transit, quels que soient leur origine ou leur statut.»

Young ecumenical leaders from Asia have met in Siam Reap, Cambodia to examine how religious traditions can offer resources to overcome religious violence in a changing Asian context.

The WCC general secretary has sent a letter to the President of the Republic of Indonesia H. E. Joko Widodo appealing for clemency for the 10 death row prisoners scheduled for imminent execution in Indonesia.

With aspirations to learn and contribute to the work of the WCC inter-religious dialogue and cooperation department, Matias Ikkala from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has commenced working this week as a WCC intern.

Volunteers for the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel have urged the European Union to take more effective actions against the illegal settlements, demolitions and forced displacement in the occupied territory controlled by the Israeli authorities.

Scattered throughout the recent history of Indigenous Peoples are national treaties, declarations and laws that languish in obscurity or are brushed aside and ignored.

We met Rev. Dr Simo Peura, bishop of the Diocese of Lapua in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and a member of the Central and Executive Committees of the WCC, in the chapel at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

Fr Rex R. B. Reyes, Jr. vividly remembers what he calls “the fateful morning of 8 November” 2013.

Le père Rex R. B. Reyes Jr se souvient parfaitement de ce qu’il appelle «le matin fatal du 8 novembre» 2013. Alors qu’il assistait à la 10e Assemblée du COE en République de Corée, il apprit que le super-typhon Haiyan s’était abattu sur son pays. Plus de 25 millions de personnes aux Philippines se trouvaient sur la trajectoire du cyclone.

A communiqué adopted at a WCC consultation describes human trafficking as a “serious human rights violation” and its consequences are “most horrific results of the economic and social disparities that increase the vulnerability of millions of people”.

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit visited Finland this week, and spoke to the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja, about the situation in Ukraine and in the Middle East. Tveit was also one of the speakers at the global partnership consultation organized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Embracing the holistic view of mission as “koinonia” (being in communion with God, all peoples and the whole of creation) has become more than bringing the good news to others, said Kyriaki Avtzi, the WCC programme executive on evangelism, while addressing the theme “Your Kingdom Come” at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland partnership consultation.

A resource book on HIV and AIDS has recently been launched by a member church of the WCC promoting visions of a strengthening partnership among churches and faith-based organizations in the Philippines to address country’s HIV epidemic.

Dr Erlinda N. Senturias, a physician, educator, ecumenical activist and former WCC staff member from the Philippines, has been named by President Benigno Aquino III to the nation’s new Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), as a fellowship of 345 churches from around the world, expresses deep sadness and sympathy for the devastating loss of life and property in the Philippines caused by the super typhoon Haiyan.

Migrants are reduced to mere commodities, traded and exchanged in the global market, according to a declaration issued by churches calling for an end to this gross violation of human dignity. The declaration was issued on the occasion of the Second United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in New York City, USA.

“Justice and peace now!” was a call made by the participants of the Asia-Pacific Students and Youth Gathering in the Philippines. They affirmed their role in revitalizing the ecumenical movement, aspiring to be “seeds of hope, catalysts of genuine and lasting peace that is based on justice”.