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As the World Council of Churches (WCC) takes new steps to promote Christian unity and inter-religious harmony, will the challenges of organizational governance and re-structuring drain “the life out of the ecumenical movement”?

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, argued forcefully today that unity as well as justice and peace should be included in the theme for the next assembly of the world’s largest ecumenical body.

In the aftermath of an international consultation on the engagement of Christians in ministries of service, relief and development, Cuban theologian Reinerio Arce agreed to be interviewed on the continuing need for “diakonia” as an essential ministry of the ecumenical movement. Dr Arce, president of Matanzas Theological Seminary and moderator of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba, was a participant in the Global Consultation on Prophetic Diakonia in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 13 through 15 December 2010.

Thirty representatives of Orthodox institutions gathered in mid-November 2010 at the Andrei Saguna theological faculty in Sibiu, Romania to reflect on the topic “The Ecumenical Movement in Theological Education and the Life of Orthodox Churches”. This discussion was moderated by Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople).

Church representatives gathered in News Orleans were reminded of their calling "to bring the churches to the same table where we can share as many of God’s gifts as possible, and to prepare for the visible unity of the Lord’s table" by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on Thursday, 11 November.

The wholeness of creation and the commitment for justice are two biblical insights that have guided ecumenical concern on climate change, say the editors of the latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, published under the title, "Churches Caring for Creation and Climate Justice".

By Stephen Brown (*)

After a 3-day visit to the earthquake ravaged areas of Haiti, a seven-member ecumenical delegation led by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, expressed some concerns about the role of churches in the reconstruction work of Haiti, the upcoming elections and the role of the ecumenical movement in the rebuilding of the country.

The holy places of Haiti were not spared by the devastating January 12th earthquake. Throughout the capital city, Port-au-Prince, many churches are rebuilding out of the rumble.

An ecumenical delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, will visit Haiti from 14-16 June. The purpose of the visit is to express solidarity with the victims of the 12 January earthquake, offer pastoral accompaniment and reflect on the current challenges the churches are facing as they try to serve the Haitian people.

"To launch together a new beginning for common mission in the 21st century" is the challenge put before participants at an international mission conference taking place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, from 2-6 June.

Hope and tenacity are essential for the ecumenical movement stated the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit at the Second Ecumenical Kirchentag which took place in Munich, Germany, from 12-16 May.

How Christians living in a rich society deal with the concern for the poor was one of the subjects discussed by participants at a German church convention (Kirchentag) celebrated in Munich, from 12-16 May.

The ACT Alliance, bringing together over 100 church-backed relief and development organizations worldwide, has been formally launched on 24 March with celebrations in Geneva and around the world.

A joint response by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (ELKB) and the Roman Catholic dioceses of this southern German state to the document "Called to be the One Church" was given to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 15 March in Geneva, Switzerland.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has offered his condolences to the people of Chile, after a powerful earthquake struck along the coastline of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February.

"To be one, the Church must go back to its common basis. Nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified", the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has said. The cross is not just a sign of religious identity, he added, but a "reality check" for both the churches and the ecumenical movement.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti after the earthquake there and has called for prompt support in the relief efforts.