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In one of their first decisions as the Central Committee for the World Council of Churches, the 150-member committee made history Friday by electing Dr Agnes Abuom of Nariobi, Kenya as the moderator of the highest WCC governing body.

The National Council of Churches in India has taken a firm stand against casteism and caste discrimination in India. The NCCI Commission on Dalits is exhibiting materials about its campaign “Solidarity with Dalits for Justice and Dignity” in the Madang Hall at the WCC 10th Assembly. The NCCI Commission on Dalits has also created a unique way of raising awareness about casteism.

Perspectives of peace-builders, shedding light on how peace can be achieved in communities, societies and nations, were featured at a plenary session of the WCC 10th Assembly. The plenary focusing on the theme of peace included Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee and Korean theologian Dr Chang Yoon Jae.

The plenary on justice at the WCC 10th Assembly brings into focus the core of its theme “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.” Following on diverse reflections from around the world on Christian unity, Asia and mission, the assembly plenary on 6 November in Busan, Republic of Korea, highlighted struggles for justice.

A “safe space” created for dialogue on human sexuality featured stories of pain, exclusion and violence faced by sexual minorities in many parts of the world. This space for dialogue was created in a workshop on 5 November at the WCC 10th Assembly currently underway in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Twenty-one WCC 10th Assembly participants visited Jeju Island for a weekend program of the event, meeting with those protesting about the building of a naval base on the south of the island.

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.