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Lit with bright lights and adorned with colourful paintings on the walls, the Raham Centre run by the Gimhae Presbyterian Church in South Korea looks like a day-care centre for children. However, the name Raham, which literally means “womb of a woman” or “womb of God” in the Hebrew language, has deep implications for the work of the centre with the purpose of supporting “migrant wives” in Gimhae.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the division between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has separated North and South Korea since the military armistice agreement was signed on 27 July 1953 at the close of the Korean War. Since

Today the WCC10th Assembly featured a mission plenary. The plenary session presented an action-oriented reflection based on the new WCC mission statement: Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes. The plenary sought to highlight the common challenges and opportunities for mission in the current global context.

A symbolic act of pouring water into one common vessel, carried out by religious leaders representing Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist faiths, marked the significance of water in various religious traditions. This action took place at the WCC 10th Assembly, currently underway in Busan, Republic of Korea.

The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches elected eight new presidents today during a closed session at its proceedings in Busan, Republic of Korea.

On Saturday participants in the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Busan showed their solidarity with the people of Korea by means of peace messages. They visited the border between South and North Korea, which has divided the Korean peninsula for the past 63 years.

On 1 November, in the exhibition hall at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, former general secretary of the WCC Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser discussed his book Religion, Power, Politics. Raiser is a theologian from Germany and author of many works in the area of political ethics and public theology, including For a Culture of Life: Transforming Globalization and Violence.

At the WCC 10th Assembly, the Asia region shared current realities through churches’ voices, cultural symbols and artistic performances. A continent of diversity and religious plurality, Asia is filled with contradictions of wealth and poverty, and a strong resilience. As its churches seek paths toward “justice and peace” in their societies, Asia offers an impressive range of experience.

Greetings to South Korea were extended by Chung Hongwon, prime minister of the Republic of Korea, at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan. In his speech he welcomed the assembly participants, and acknowledged contributions of the Korean churches towards peace, justice and provision of help to the disadvantaged.

A plenary session of the 10th Assembly of the WCC delved deeply into the question how, in a world faced with violence, conflicts and discrimination, the “God of life” can lead people, communities and churches towards “justice and peace”.

The 10th Assembly of the WCC opened on Wednesday, 30 October in Busan, Republic of Korea under the theme “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.”

In a video message shown at the opening of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Busan, Republic of Korea, Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, called on Christians to “pray for the peace of the whole world and for the unity of all”.

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, has called “peace with justice” a theme central to the work of the WCC. In a report he presented at the WCC 10th Assembly, he shared some of the principal accomplishments and challenges in the work of the WCC over the last seven years.

Participants in the WCC 10th Assembly witnessed a vibrant artistic performance filled with music and drama, telling the story of the national and Christian mission history of Korea.

Amidst dramatic events, injustices and crises in the world, God is creating a “new dawn” for the ecumenical movement, said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC. He was reporting at the 10th Assembly of the WCC on the council’s work over the last seven years. He welcomed the coming of this Assembly which he expects to be an event of humility, honesty and hope.

“They’re coming, they’re coming,” shouts a young women, looking toward the train pulling into platform 6 at Busan Station. When the doors open, people get off with large suitcases. They look tired – yet incredibly happy at the same time. They’ve traveled from Berlin to Busan, 20 days across Europe and Asia. Their objective: To send out a signal against the division of Korea – and for peace in the country which has been split in two for 63 years.

More than 200 international theology students of varied Christian traditions have commenced participating in the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI). An opening with a vibrant worship service at the Graduate School of Theology of Hanshin University marked the beginning of the GETI on 26 October in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Final preparations are underway for the opening of the 10th Assembly of the WCC, to be held in Busan, Republic of Korea.

In preparation for the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), pastors and peace activists in that nation are holding a 40-day “fasting prayer” in front of the Busan City Hall. They are protesting the dangers of nuclear radiation and asking to shut down South Korea’s oldest and incident-prone Kori Nuclear Power Plant, some 20 kilometres from the venue of the WCC assembly.

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.