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The archbishop Dr Nathan Söderblom, an ecumenical forerunner and messenger of peace in war-torn Europe, challenged a deeply divided Christianity 100 years ago. Against all odds, the Stockholm Conference on Life and Work in 1925 gathered church leaders at a scale the world had not seen since Nicaea 1600 years earlier. And it did not end there.

By his own admission, John D. Lewis was a very “young” eighteen-year-old when he arrived at the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva 45 years ago this week to be a steward. What he discovered there, and serving again in Berlin the following year, he carries with him to this day.

Local and international youth are gathered together in the Netherlands, preparing for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

In the wake of a tragic collapse of a motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri offered condolences and prayers on behalf of the WCC global fellowship.

“On the Move” is the theme, as 12 Dutch and 12 international youth gather for a Youth Pilgrimage in the Netherlands on 21-23 August.

As students gathered at the WCC Ecumenical Institute at Bossey for an interreligious summer school, they reflected on what brought them to the institute, and what knowledge and insights they will take home.

This week the World Council of Churches Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Switzerland is ringing with scriptural sharing, research, and dialogue drawing together perspectives from Judaism, Christianity and Islam as students work to complete a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Interreligious Studies.

“Christ’s call for abundant life (John 10:10) means that the church must work to address the enormity of challenges, including access to water resources, care for creation, and adequate health care,” said Rev. Matthew Ross during a World Council of Churches (WCC) seminar on young people’s involvement in “Ecumenical Diakonia and Sustainable Development,” held in Matanzas, Cuba, July 15-20.

In a lecture that opened a summer course offered by the foundation Pro Oriente in Vienna, Austria, on 9 July, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit commemorated the WCC’s 70-year history and described its ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

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.

Gathered in prayer in the Bossey chapel on 14 June, the WCC Ecumenical Institute saw eight new students graduate with a Master of Advanced Studies in Ecumenical Studies.

As the Conference of European Churches (CEC) convened in Novi Sad, Serbia for its 15th general assembly, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit conveyed a greeting on behalf of the WCC.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death and remembering the life of Daniela Di Mauro. Her sudden death is a shock and tragic loss for her family, colleagues and friends.

Through a ceremony on 26 January, the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey saw 21 students from 20 countries and 10 denominations embark on a future of ecumenical work in their respective home countries and contexts.

The WCC invites applications of church-engaged youth to undertake an internship with the council at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva in 2018. With application deadline 15 March, available work areas include Communication, Health and Healing, Just Community of Women and Men, and Commission of the Churches on International Affairs.

On 24 January, a music-filled, lively service at the Ecumenical Centre chapel celebrated both the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches.

The Council of Christian Churches in France (CÉCEF) is encouraging local churches to support a recently created Green Church environmental certification label, asking that offerings made at ecumenical services during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity go to help finance the initiative.

It’s 70 years since the World Council of Churches was founded in Amsterdam on 23 August. In addition to a commemoration service in Amsterdam on 23 August, the WCC, its member churches and partners are planning a variety of events to move forward on our ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, and at the same time honour and learn from these 70 years of ecumenical endeavour. Dr Abuom, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, is the moderator of the WCC Central Committee. She is the first woman and the first African in the position in WCC’s history. In an interview, she reflects on the evolution of the WCC in the past 70 years.

Young adults from more than 60 countries gathered in Basel for the 40th annual Taizé European Meeting of Young Adults from 28 December - 1 January. As part of a new stage of the Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth, the meeting took place for the first time in a tri-national region (Switzerland, Germany, France).

In a sermon at the Trinity Church in Oslo, Norway on 9 December, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected on peacemakers: those who create trust and foster good relations, those who try to bring out the best in us, those who attempt to solve conflicts.