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Myanmar was visited by an ecumenical solidarity team representing the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 4 to 9 August 2011 as part of the council’s commitment to accompany churches in conflict situations. This was a follow-up to a WCC Living Letters team visit to Myanmar in late 2010.

In comments to staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 18 August, the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed alarm at the “blocking and hindering of the food supply in famine-struck Somalia, with the effect that more and more people are dying. This interference with humanitarian aid is inhumane and must be strongly condemned.”

Ecumenical observers appointed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) have released a report on their visit to Liberia in advance of elections scheduled to take place on 11 October 2011. The seven-member delegation was led by Bishop Robert Aboagye-Mensah, a vice-president of the AACC, member of the WCC Central Committee and until recently presiding bishop of the Methodist Church in Ghana.

Fifteen leaders of dioceses and national church bodies in Norway, among them all 12 bishops of the Church of Norway, joined in common prayer on Wednesday morning 17 August at the Ecumenical Centre chapel in Geneva, Switzerland. They were joined in this act of worship by members of the Norwegian congregation in Geneva and staff of many church-related agencies including the ACT Alliance, Conference of European Churches, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and World Council of Churches (WCC).

As the world's attention turns toward the tenth anniversary of 11 September 2001, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit ponders what we may learn from more recent acts of terror in his homeland.

Each year on 21 September the World Council of Churches calls churches and parishes to observe the International Day of Prayer for Peace. This year the WCC is asking the 1,000 people who attended the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston in May 2011 to offer a prayer for peace as a follow-up to that important event.

Consistent with its commitment to strengthen long-standing relations with the Roman Catholic Church and to foster youth involvement in the one ecumenical movement, the World Council of Churches is to participate in the World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, Spain, 16-21 August, in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI. The theme of the 2011 WYD is “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith” (Col 2:7).

Serious issues that threaten Asia’s peace and security have been recognized by an ecumenical consultation that was organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia. The event was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 2 to 6 August.

Voicing an appeal for the renunciation of violence by all sides in ongoing political conflict in Syria, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has stated, “it is particularly urgent that the army and government security agencies cease the indiscriminate use of force” against demonstrators, moving instead to protect all Syrian citizens’ lives, dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Each August 6 and 9 since 1945 there is a profound moment of sorrow and reason for hope when the world remembers the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 66 years ago during World War II.

A seven-member ecumenical solidarity team from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) will be visiting the West African country of Liberia 6-12 August at the request of the general secretary of the Liberia Council of Churches, Dr Benjamin Dorme Lartey.

The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, outside Geneva, Switzerland, is inaugurating its first summer school by hosting an internationally focused session on communication and religion.

Ecumenical News International

In a letter sent Friday to the Christian Council of Norway, WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fkyse Tveit and the Moderator of the WCC Central Committee, Rev. Dr Walter Altmann expressed their “deep shock and sadness” concerning the attacks of last week.  “We wish to express our deepest solidarity with the people, churches and authorities of Norway,” they said.

This past week the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, was quoted by the Associated Press concerning the situation in Norway.

WCC Faith and Order director Canon Dr John Gibaut today cited progress in the work of the Faith and Order Commission at the annual meeting of its standing commission outside Milan.

“Norway has today experienced an unprecedented and horrible level of violence against innocent people,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, a Norwegian Lutheran pastor and general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

A common charter reflecting the essential elements of quality in theological education for schools of all denominational backgrounds was proposed recently by representatives of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI) at a meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Christian theologians, historians and ecumenical activists take stock of the current state of ecumenism and the future of the movement for Christian unity in the newest issue of Ecumenical Review.

by Theodore Gill (*)