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A team from the Church of Westphalia visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey from 27 September to 1 October, exploring a global view of ecumenism by learning about the WCC as a global ecumenical organisation.

During an ecumenical service in Aachen Cathedral, on 28 August, Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in Germany as well as the churches affiliated to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen (Working Group of Christian Churches) will jointly remember and honor the victims of the floods that severely hit the region.

In a letter of solidarity to churches and all people throughout Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, the moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee Dr Agnes Abuom and WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended condolences and concern for those who lost loved ones during the severe flooding that struck the region in mid-July.

Conversations at the World Council of Churches (WCC) exhibition booth at the Kirchentag showed there is a growing interest in ecumenical movement among German churches. The topics of a particularly high interest were the Thursdays in Black campaign and studies at the Ecumenical institute in Bossey.

The leaders of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches met 24-27 May in Targoviste, Romania, to discuss cooperation in peace building and the ecumenical challenge and opportunity posed by migrants and refugees.

Friday evening when the leaders of the G20 states will be meeting in Hamburg and discussing global economic, social, environmental and political issues, the churches in Germany are inviting people in Germany and all over the world to a common peace prayer.

Today 35 bishops and church leaders from 20 countries gathered in Munich, Germany to discuss the refugee situation and the role of the churches in Europe.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.

In view of the current refugee crisis, European churches are being encouraged to deepen their efforts in receiving, supporting and protecting refugees who arrive in the region. This call was made in a letter issued jointly by the WCC, the Conference of European Churches and the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.

[Joint release with the Conference of European Churches (CEC)]

This past February the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee announced that the theme for the Tenth WCC Assembly in 2013 in Busan, Korea would be “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.”

The WCC Executive Committee opened its bi-annual meetings Monday 12 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a welcoming ceremony by local church leaders and poignant and detailed presentations on the regional humanitarian crisis in Somalia and neighbouring countries.

A call for solidarity with the poor was delivered to a gathering of religious, political and civil society leaders from all over the world by one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The meeting on the topic “Bound to Live Together: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue” is taking place from 11-13 September in Munich, Germany.

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.