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The World Council of Churches (WCC), with the Korea Institute for National Unification, reflected on international cooperation for improvement of human rights and ecumenical cooperation for diakonia ministry in North Korea.

On 27 April, some 500,000 people joined hands to form a “human peace chain” along the 500 km long Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea. They expressed their strong desire for permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula, gathering to celebrate the first anniversary of Panmunjom Declaration and commemorate the centennial of the 1 March Independence Movement.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) condemned the massacre earlier this month of 14 farmers by police officers in Canlaon City, as well as Manjuyod and Santa Catalina towns in Negros Oriental in the Philippines. The WCC also renewed its call for the government of the Philippines to end the culture of impunity and to ensure full investigation and accountability for all such killings.

The National Council of Churches in Korea will join civil society organizations to create a “human chain” on 27 April alongside the Korean Demilitarized Zone to celebrate the first anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, as well as to break the current deadlock since the Hanoi Summit.

An international seminar held in Seoul on 4-5 March explored how diaconal ministry contributes to the reconciliation and peace work of the global church, and how diaconal ministry efforts can be improved through exchange and cooperation among churches in North and South Korea.

Pilgrims coming from Germany, Italy and Norway ended their journeys for climate justice on 7 December upon arrival at the St Stephen’s Church in Katowice, Poland, where the United Nations (UN) climate conference is underway. They were warmly welcomed by the delegations of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that are attending the 24th Conference of Parties of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24).

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was invited to address a significant and historic gathering of Theological institutions in India on the 4th of December. He also received an honorary doctorate degree from the Senate of Serampore College which represents 60 Theological Colleges in South Asia.

Under the topic “Politicisation of Religion and Religionization of Politics in Asia”, the Christian Conference of Asia’s (CCA) general secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara shared serious concerns about emerging trends where religions are used for political power gains and vice versa.

His Eminence Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church celebrated his Episcopal Silver Jubilee, or 25 years in ministry, on 17 November. Metropolitan Nicholovos is a member of the WCC Executive Committee. In an interview with WCC Communication, he reflects on his 25-year milestone, as well as on the challenges and joys of the ecumenical movement today.

A Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula convened in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) on 8-12 November, building on decades of progress by the Korean Methodist Church, United Methodist Church, and World Methodist Council, as well the Korean Christian Federation and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit sent greetings to Hindu brothers and sisters on Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated this year on 7 November.

World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) coordinator Dinesh Suna attended the International Sanitation Convention from 29 September - 2 October in India. Suna shared his reflections on the conference, the role of EWN, and the future of sanitation and how it affects justice in the lives of millions of people.

The National Council of Churches in India and the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India have announced Dalit Liberation Sunday will be 11 November.

National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) general secretary Rev. Lee Hong Jung, invited by the South Korean presidential administration, attended the 3rd Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang in September with President Moon Jae-In as part of a 53-member delegation of South Koreans from various sectors of society.

Churches can be the salt of the world, says a senior church leader from India, Metropolitan Joseph Mar Thoma of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

Rev. Dr Jooseop Keum received an honorary doctorate on 8 September from the Debrecen Reformed Theological University (DRTU) in Hungary. Keum, a pastor with the Presbyterian Church in Korea, is a former World Council of Churches executive and long-time friend of the Reformed Church in Hungary.

Even though flood survivors are displaced in some 2,000 relief camps across Kerala in south India, many of them observed the indigenous Malayali festival of Onam on 25 August in whatever way they could. The traditional festival, for thousands, carried an even more poignant meaning because the holiday celebrates the return of joy to the land: the story of the return of King Mahabali, considered to be a very kind and generous ruler, during a “golden period” in Kerala.

An international consultation on “Education for Transformation: Challenges and Prospects for Formation and Reformation” was organised to mark the bicentenary of Serampore College, and the centenary of the Senate of Serampore.

As Kerala, the southern state of India, nicknamed “God’s Own Country,” battles one of the worst flood disasters in a century, various religious communities have opened their doors to help homeless people.

As the worst flooding in half a century struck the southern India state of Kerala, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit called for prayers for those affected and for those responding, and expressed his sympathy for those who have lost loved ones in the disaster.