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A photo exhibit, “Every Picture Tells A Story,” opened in the Ecumenical Centre on 29 November, showcasing the work of Most Rev. Dr Martin Modéus, archbishop of the Church of Sweden and primate of Uppsala.

As the World Council of Churches celebrates its 75th anniversary, a series of feature stories from different regions of the world will portray ecumenism at the local level—within churches, communities, and individuals who embody the spirit of ecumenism in unique ways. The feature story below offers a glimpse of some facets of ecumenism present in the Philippines.

In crowded urban neighborhoods and drought-plagued rural villages, Indonesians from all religious backgrounds are putting their faith into action.

A new report offering an overview of the human rights situation in West Papua found little progress in decreasing human rights violations in 2022 and calls for reducing violence and promoting accountability in 2023.

“It’s okay not to be okay.” That’s the catchy way Denis Pattinasarany, from the Protestant church in the Mollucas, Indonesia, describes one of the most important things he learned at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.

Church leaders in the Philippines gathered in an ecumenical memorial service in Manila on 21 September, the 50^th anniversary of the imposition of martial law, to solemnly recall people of faith who were tortured and killed during the brutal regime of president Ferdinand Marcos.

Por derecho, debería haber sido en África. La primera Asamblea del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) se celebró en Europa (Ámsterdam), la segunda en América del Norte (Evanston, EE. UU.) y la tercera en Asia (Nueva Delhi). Se esperaba que África fuera el siguiente continente en acoger al Consejo. Sin embargo, a lo largo de la década de 1960, en África brotaron actos de violencia y conflictos militares, de la región de Biafran, en Nigeria, a Zanzíbar y Eritrea; de Argelia a Mozambique y Rodesia. De manera que, la Cuarta Asamblea volvió a la “seguridad” de Europa, a Uppsala, en Suecia. En una de esas ironías de la historia, un mes después de la clausura de la Asamblea, los tanques soviéticos entrarían en Praga.

By rights, it should have been Africa. The World Council of Churches’ (WCC) First Assembly had been held in Europe (Amsterdam), the second in North America (Evanston, USA), the third in Asia (New Delhi). Hopes were raised that Africa would be the next continent to host the council. But questions arose concerning acts of violence and military conflicts in Africa throughout the 1960s, from the Biafran region in Nigeria to Zanzibar and Eritrea, from Algeria to Mozambique and Rhodesia. And so the Fourth Assembly returned to the “safety” of Europe, to Uppsala in Sweden. In one of history’s ironies, Soviet tanks would roll into Prague one month after the assembly’s close.

An interfaith statement developed at Stockholm+50, “Faith Values and Reach - Contribution to Environmental Policy,” was signed by representatives of various faith-based organizations and Indigenous cultures across the world, including the World Council of Churches, and directed to the governments, UN entities, civil society, and all stakeholders of the “Stockholm+50” processes.

A medida que la pandemia de COVID-19 se atenúa lentamente, persisten sus graves consecuencias sobre la vida de las personas, en toda Asia y en el resto del mundo. Además del sufrimiento y de la trágica pérdida de vidas provocados por el virus, las esperanzas en un futuro mejor se han visto truncadas por el aislamiento social, la recesión económica, el aumento del desempleo y la pobreza.

As the COVID-19 pandemic slowly fades, its severe impact on people’s lives lingers on throughout Asia and the rest of the world. In addition to the sufferings and tragic losses of lives caused by the virus, hopes for a brighter future have been dimmed by social isolation, economic recession, increased unemployment and poverty.

For the people of the Indonesian province of West Papua, human rights have significantly deteriorated throughout 2019 and 2020, as demonstrated by the latest biennial report issued by the International Coalition for Papua. In this context, the West Papuan Council of Churches issued a moral call to the international community on behalf of their people.