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"The fellowship in the church should always be a sign of the empathy of God, with everyone who is suffering, groaning, longing for relief," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in his keynote presentation at the 27th Quadrennial Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI).

Theological faculties in the Republic of Korea are preparing for the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) which is to take place in the Korean city of Busan in late October and early November 2013. On 23 March 2012, a staff representative of the WCC gave an update on assembly planning to the annual congress of the Korean Association of Accredited Theological Schools (KAATS) meeting on the campus of Yonsei University in Seoul.

The pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism saw churches' renewed commitment and different approaches to mission and evangelism in a context of rapid change in society, politics and church.

Transformative spiritualities and mission is a significant point of discussion at the pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) which is currently under way in Manila. Transformative spiritualities are also one of the constituent themes of the CWME statement on mission and evangelism that will be presented to the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Korea in 2013. Dr Rico Palaca Ponce, academic director of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia based in Quezon City, the Philippines, gave an interview on the topic on 23 March.

Since 1982 there has been only one official statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on mission and evangelism. Now in 2012 the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) is preparing another statement to invoke new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst changing world and ecclesial scenarios.

A new video from the World Council of Churches (WCC) called The Changing Face of Mission explores the history of mission since the 1910 Edinburgh conference on mission, and how during the past century mission has changed.

Justice must be the guiding principle for the upcoming summit on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, church organizations say.

“Christians are to acknowledge that changing one’s religion is a decisive step that must be accompanied by sufficient time for reflection and preparation, through a process ensuring full personal freedom.” This assertion is one of the guiding principles for Christian mission in India suggested in early March by a consultation convened under the leadership of the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore University (BTESSC).

To commemorate World Water Day, the World Council of Churches will be hosting a painting exhibition with the theme Agua (water) by renowned Argentine painter and artist, Néstor Favre-Mossier. His paintings will be displayed at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva from 19 March in the afternoon to 23 March.

“Before God and our communities, we are responsible to Jews for the historical and ongoing realities of anti-Semitism, to Palestinians since the Nakba, to Muslim neighbours in the light of Islamophobia, to persons who are vulnerable, and to victims of colonial conquest, among others," said participants of a World Council of Churches (WCC) sponsored conference.

The Ecumenical Institute of Bossey inaugurated its recently renovated guest house and a new conference hall on 14 February, expanding its facilities for the use of churches, ecumenical bodies, local and international organizations and individual visitors.

Rev. Dr Nyambura Njoroge is always reminding herself of the daily lives of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Their battle for dignity and enormous resilience keeps inspiring her while she coordinates World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative for Africa (EHAIA).

In his sermon at the chapel of Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 9 January, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit paid respect to the anti

By George Arende (*)

In a statement read on 9 December to government members from around the world at the United Nations climate summit in Durban, South Africa, the World Council of Churches (WCC) reaffirmed the need for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to effectively address climate change effects on vulnerable communities.

The shock expressed by members of a rural congregation when offered an opportunity for voluntary HIV testing and counselling, and other similar experiences have taught Pauline Wanjiru Njiru that it is not the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that kills people, but fear, stigma and ignorance.

“This is the only home we have,” said Archbishop Desmond Tutu referring to the crucial significance of our planet and its survival. He was speaking in an interfaith rally in Durban, urging the United Nations conference on climate change (COP17) to deliver a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to address climate change effectively.

While staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and sister organizations such as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) are preparing for the COP17 meeting for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa next week, the ecumenical community in Brazil is starting to think about 2012 when the UN conference Rio+20 will assess the outcomes of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

Considering climate change a “moral and spiritual crisis”, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, calls the COP17 United Nations conference on climate change a “last opportunity for the international community to be responsible in addressing climate change” and urges positive outcomes from the event.