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The Romani people, also known as the Roma, migrated from northwest India 1,500 years ago. Once they arrived in Europe, they spread across the continent from the Balkan region. Now Romani live worldwide, though principally in Europe.

At a time of increased divisions within churches and within rapidly changing societies, Christians are called, more urgently than ever before, to model the values of reconciliation, justice and peace. That’s why a group of theologians and church leaders from different denominations have been meeting near the German city of Augsburg to work together on two documents calling for much closer collaboration in the tasks of peace-building and the care of migrants and refugees.

Whether as individual believers or as a community, it is our collective task to advocate for Christian unity, says Melanio L. Aoanan from the Philippines. A clear vision for religious and ecumenical theological education is needed that is relevant in the 21st century.

Dr Erlinda N. Senturias, from the Philippines, gives thanks that WCC has created safe spaces for the churches to talk about HIV and AIDS. She asks that the ecumenical movement continue to be a beacon of support for this ongoing journey of health and healing.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church (UMC) as well as United Methodist bishops in the Philippines in appealing to the government of the Philippines for assistance and cooperation in extracting three United Methodist mission personnel from the country.

The Ecumenical Institute Bossey, which Pope Francis visits on Thursday, 21 June, as part of his pilgrimage to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, is a workshop of ideas, where the future path toward Christian unity is being mapped out.

Noting “the worsening human rights situation and increasing violence and impunity” in the Philippines, WCC’s central committee has expressed its alarm and outrage, pointing particularly to the role of the government there.

The leaders of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches met 24-27 May in Targoviste, Romania, to discuss cooperation in peace building and the ecumenical challenge and opportunity posed by migrants and refugees.

As he participated in prayers for peace on the Korean Peninsula and for a world free from nuclear weapons, Bishop Reinhart Guib (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania) said when he visits the WCC, he sees the world as much bigger than he could imagine.

While meeting in Amman, Jordan, from 17-23 November, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee issued a statement on the detention of Bishop Carlos Morales and the situation in Mindanao, Philippines.

“Ecumenism without youth is ecumenism without a future”, said Prof. Dr Esther Mombo at the opening of the annual meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation (CEEF), being held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 9-13 October.

Gathering in Sibiu, Romania, the World Council of Churches (WCC) youth commission ECHOS met on 17-20 August for days of discernment on the position and role of youth in the ecumenical movement today, and to set the future path of the commission, as it journeys on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), on 11-12 July, held an international consultation on “Towards Revitalising the Ecumenical Movement in Asia.” The gathering of 60 church and ecumenical leaders was organised by the CCA at its headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand as a prelude to its Diamond Jubilee celebration.

The Philippines has long been noticed for crimes committed against its people, but now human rights violations of the government of President Roderigo Duterte are coming under scrutiny at the Human Rights Council after submissions made by church-backed civil society groups.

“We see a lot of challenges, of frustration, anger, but also cases of good practices, of growing Romania together.” Speaking at a workshop on ”Food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture - the Romanian experience and the role of the church” at the German Kirchentag in Berlin on 25 May, ecumenical youth advocate Vicenţiu Dragoş Băşa from the Joint programme of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, reflected on the work towards ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture in the Romanian context.

To galvanize the international community on the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines, the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted a photo exhibit on 4-5 May.

Athena Peralta is dedicated to observing and encouraging people who are defending their livelihood and defending creation across the world. “There is so much injustice in this world that it is really something beautiful to learn about and be able to accompany, even in tiny ways, struggles of communities and churches,” she said.

Four short videos sharing challenges and examples of how churches and church leaders can make a profound difference in global efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat are now available for individual inspiration and group discussion.

Thirty-five years into the response to HIV and AIDS, it remains a disease that not only thrives on, but exploits the lines of exclusion and inequality in society. In the Philippines, where there has been an alarming increase in people testing positive for HIV, the country’s National Council of Churches recognized that more than words were needed. While dialogue and debate were important, they needed to translate into action, given the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor in Filipino society, and a faith-based and societal milieu still dominated by a sex-negative theology.

Kerlan Fanagel’s submission to the Human Rights Council (HRC), delivered on the council’s 10th anniversary, highlighted the plight of the Lumad in Mindanao, a group of people who have been displaced from their traditional lands in the southern Philippines.