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The Obispo Maximo of the Philippine Independent Church, Fr. Rhee Millena Timbang, released a pastoral message on 3 August celebrating the 117th anniversary of the church.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met last week with Rev. Miguel Salanic, from Guatemala, in Geneva, Switzerland. They discussed the role of indigenous people as part of the living WCC fellowship and the preparations leading up to the WCC 11th Assembly to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2021.

Dinesh Suna, coordinator of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network, spoke at the G20 Interfaith Forum, held 7-9 June in Tokyo. This year’s theme was “Peace, People, Planet: Pathways Forward.” About 2,000 participants attend the gathering, which precedes the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. The interfaith forum submitted recommendations for G20 leaders.

When a wide-ranging ecumenical group discussed “Transitional Justice in Colombia, implications for the peace process”, many of the speakers seemed worried that the great hope there was back in 2016 seems to have dissipated and much more work for peace is needed.

A delegation comprised of two church leaders and a victim of death threats who lost family members due to the conflict in Colombia was hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New York, 27-30 May. All three spoke with member states of the United Nations Security Council about the worsening situation in relation to the peace accords with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the stalled dialogue with the National Liberation Army.

“We express our deepest concern with regard to the search for peace in Colombia, and we call upon the Colombian government and all armed actors to refrain from targeting social leaders and communities in conflict zones”, said Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), in light of the recent killings of social leaders in Micoahumado, South Bolivar, and elsewhere around the country.

“As Christians, we are called every day to generously practice hospitality”, said Bishop Samuel Aguilar, from the Methodist Church of Peru, as he lamented cases of xenophobia, discrimination and violence suffered by thousands of Venezuelans in different parts of Latin America.

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.

On 18-22 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission gathered at Faculdade Unida de Vitoria in Brazil for a consultation entitled “Towards a Global Vision of the Church”.

At the 33rd Festival International de Films de Fribourg, held 15-23 March, the Ecumenical Jury awarded “Compañeros – La noche de 12 años” (A Twelve-Year Night), directed by Álvaro Brechner, a prize of 5,000 CHF donated by the Swiss organizations Lenten Offering and Bread for All.

It is with deep shock and indignation that the World Council of Churches received the news that 49 people have been killed and at least 20 were wounded in terrorist attacks at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch and at the mosque in the suburb of Linwood in New Zealand.

The WCC invites applications for a seminar on Youth and Racism Awareness in Asia, to be held in Osaka, Japan on 8-12 September 2019.

One month after a dam near an iron ore mine in Brumadinho, Brazil, burst its barrier, flooding another dam down below, churches have been actively working in the area, comforting hundreds of families in grief and joining hands with the public agents who are offering humanitarian relief to the people in the region.

A global faith-based movement, the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, has been strengthening its communication and creating country programs in an ongoing effort to inspire people, appeal to their core values, and make an ethical case for urgent and concerted action to protect rainforests.

Bishop Emeritus Nélida Ritchie, from the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina (IEMA), passed away on 22 December. She served as vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee between 1991 and 1998.

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).

“I didn’t have any document that says who I am, so I started to look for answers that would help me to understand the real definition of my condition as a stateless person”, said Maha Mamo in a video interview published by World Council of Churches communications.

“Hunger amidst plenty is the great contradiction of our time”, said Dr Ángel Ibarra, vice-minister of environment and natural resources of El Salvador, as he addressed participants of the World Council of Churches (WCC) “Eco-School on Water, Food and Climate Justice”, being held in San Salvador, 1-12 November.

The National Christian Council (NCC) in Japan and other faith-based groups in the nation have issued a joint statement regarding comments from Masahiko Shibayama, minister of education and science, about the “Imperial Rescript of Education.”

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit sent a message to the participants of a public event held on 15 October, in Montevideo, Uruguay, celebrating the legacy of Emilio Castro and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.