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“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.

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.

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.

“Mission is not an action or activity we can choose. It is an expression of daily life. It belongs to the whole church and is not the function of just a few or of an agency,” says Father Ioan Sauca, deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

“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.

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.

In 1984 a pastor from Uruguay became the first Latin American to be elected as general secretary of the WCC. The late Emilio Castro (1927 - 2013) left an unmatched legacy of passionate ecumenism behind him. His book “Pasion y compromise con el Reino de Dios”, first published in 2007, has now been translated into English and released in an edited version.

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.

From 18-20 September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is hosting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a regional meeting of some 30 people with responsibilities for ecumenical relations in several churches in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Congratulations for being a student at Bossey!” Fr Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, director of the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey and deputy general secretary, welcomed the students for the new academic year 2018-2019. Thirty-one students from diverse countries and traditions will start their classes at the ecumenical institute on Tuesday.

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.

One of the most active groups of "La Casona", a care center in the southern part of Buenos Aires, is the “Centro de Producción Audiovisual”, which is formed by eight young people of ages 16-22 who found in the cinema and audiovisual production a tool to express their feelings about the challenging reality around them. Last August, they received a visit by a group led by Frederique Seidel, World Council of Churches (WCC) special adviser on Child Rights.

A conversation on the way home to Chile from the WCC 4th Assembly planted an ecumenical seed that grew into a wonderful experience of Christian unity – the partnership agreement between the Pentecostal Church of Chile and the United Church of Christ.

“We have sought to support dialogue as a means to resolve differences, and to reaffirm and strengthen calls for justice, peace and respect for diverse ways of thinking in contemporary societies”, reads a message issued by the members of an ecumenical delegation organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) that visited Nicaragua on 28-29 August.

Exposure visits taken by participants of the Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management (GEM) offered a firsthand knowledge about economic and political injustices and challenges being faced by the migrant and indigenous communities in Mexico.

A 10-day program on global economics with participation of church leaders and young activists from diverse backgrounds was opened 19 August in Mexico City.