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The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted Bishop Dr Jukka Keskitalo and Rev. Pekka Mustakallio from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, to discuss the ecumenical agenda of 2023 and the harvesting of the WCC 11 th assembly, as well a group from the Centre for Ecumenism of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, and 21 ordinands from the Church of Sweden.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed great concern in the wake of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines on 27 July.

As the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca congratulated them and expressed solidarity with their ongoing fight for justice and peace.

The Bishops’ Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland approved the ecumenical policy paper “Doors Open for Unity and Fellowship,” which provides an orientation for the ecumenical work at various levels of church life until 2026.

As a report on human rights abuses in the Philippines was delivered to the UN by the global group Investigate PH, churches and human rights groups reiterated their concerns over propagation of a culture that allows the abuse to happen.

In a message of solidarity to the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed concern that the human rights situation in the Philippines continues to deteriorate.

Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi is dean of the Ecumenical Institute, the graduate school which opened its academic year this week. Below, Iwuamadi reflects on the arrival of new students at the Ecumenical Institute during this remarkable time.

Church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark signed a statement demanding that we take “human responsibility” for refugees on the border between Turkey and Greece.

As the Finnish Mission Council celebrated its centenary on 12 October in Tampere, Finland, the Lutheran Archbishop of Finland, Dr Tapio Luoma, celebrated the witness in mission of the earlier missionaries and generations. Luoma also urged every generation to find answers to the question of how to live fully as a disciple of Jesus and fulfil his commission.

As the Finnish Mission Council observed its centenary, Dr Risto Jukko, director of the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, spoke about the relation between Finnish mission work and the international mission movement.

The upcoming World Council of Churches (WCC) assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, was on the agenda of a recent meeting of the Conference of European Churches in Finland. Dr Marc Witzenbacher, the local WCC assembly coordinator, talked about the organizational process of the gathering, and also invited European churches to have significant participation in the assembly.

Fourteen church leaders and activists from Canada, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, embarked on a Pilgrim Team Visit to the Philippines from 9-13 August. They listened, learned and bore witness to the escalating human rights crisis in the country. The visit was convened by the World Council of Churches in partnership with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

The Arusha Call to Discipleship is at once exhilarating, transformative and challenging to the point of discomfort for some, reflected leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) during a 20 May press conference and book launch in Helsinki, Finland.

As a meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism convened in Helsinki, Finland on 16-22 May, leaders reflected on the way forward for the ecumenical movement after the commission’s Arusha conference in March.
In opening remarks, Dr Agnes Aboum, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, reflected on what she described on as “landmark” conference in Arusha, which drew together more than 1,000 people and resulted in an Arusha Call to Discipleship.

“Come and See - A Theological invitation to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace,” a text newly published by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission, draws from different traditions in order to make the case for common witness. The document was presented and launched at the meeting with the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). The CWME Commission gather in Helsinki, Finland 16-22 May, 2019 to evaluate and reflect on the Conference of World Mission and Evangelism that took place in Arusha (Tanzania) and its future work.

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.

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).