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Nearly one hundred representatives of the German member churches of the WCC met from 16 to 18 January at the Evangelical Academy of Loccum in order to share their experiences from the WCC 10th Assembly and to discuss how they would continue their way together on their pilgrimage of justice and peace.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected on the message from Pope Francis on the World Day of Peace, participating in an inter-religious service held at the St. Nicolas de Flue Church in Geneva, along with other religious leaders representing Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities in Switzerland.

In a talk organized by the Archives of the WCC, Elisabeth Baumgartner, a Swiss lawyer and head of the project “Dealing with the Past” at the Swiss Peace Foundation (swisspeace), stressed the importance of archives and documentation in dealing with the past, which she said is pertinent to the institutional and informal mechanisms seeking justice, reconciliation and conflict resolution.

Chief contributions and highlights of the WCC 10th Assembly are available in the newest issue of The Ecumenical Review, a quarterly journal of the WCC.

Rev. Romi Márcia Bencke, general secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil has been honoured with a Human Rights Award presented to her by the Brazilian federal government on 12 December.

Calling Nelson Mandela a leader with hard-won wisdom and maturity unparalleled in our time, the WCC general secretary gave thanks to God for Mandela’s life, which he described as a gift to South Africa and the whole world.

During 2014 the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey will be holding a number of seminars raising awareness on issues related to women’s concerns, justice and peace, ecology and Christian theology, interfaith relations and migrant churches.

Publication of the text The Church: Towards a Common Vision has been called an ecumenical highlight of 2013. Now under study by churches throughout the world, it is a document in search of convergence. The most recent issue of the quarterly journal The Ecumenical Review features commentary on this product of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit emphasized close links between the biblical understanding of peace and a “harmonious society” in which all citizens are valued. Tveit was speaking at the 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, held from 20 to 22 November in Vienna, Austria.

The WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, concluded on 8 November, acting to inspire churches to renew their commitments to justice and peace. Through varied encounters and dialogue within the fellowship of churches, the Assembly has made concrete decisions and recommendations setting priorities for the future work of the WCC.

“Join the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace” is the title of the Message of the WCC 10th Assembly. The assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, was convened on 30 October and drew to a close on 8 November 2013. An assembly, the highest governing body of the WCC, is held once every seven to eight years to endorse policies, review projects and point the future direction of the organization.

In one of their first decisions as the Central Committee for the World Council of Churches, the 150-member committee made history Friday by electing Dr Agnes Abuom of Nariobi, Kenya as the moderator of the highest WCC governing body.

“Blessed are the peace makers” is the proclamation in Matthew 5:9. Today the WCC 10th Assembly featured Leymah Gbowee as one of the key speakers at the Peace Plenary, which featured stories, images and signs of hope from God leading toward justice and peace.

Today the WCC 10th Assembly hosted a unity plenary. The plenary invited participants to reflect on unity and the spiritual journey of fellowship grounded in prayerful reflection.

Lit with bright lights and adorned with colourful paintings on the walls, the Raham Centre run by the Gimhae Presbyterian Church in South Korea looks like a day-care centre for children. However, the name Raham, which literally means “womb of a woman” or “womb of God” in the Hebrew language, has deep implications for the work of the centre with the purpose of supporting “migrant wives” in Gimhae.

Today the WCC10th Assembly featured a mission plenary. The plenary session presented an action-oriented reflection based on the new WCC mission statement: Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes. The plenary sought to highlight the common challenges and opportunities for mission in the current global context.

A symbolic act of pouring water into one common vessel, carried out by religious leaders representing Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist faiths, marked the significance of water in various religious traditions. This action took place at the WCC 10th Assembly, currently underway in Busan, Republic of Korea.

On 1 November, in the exhibition hall at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, former general secretary of the WCC Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser discussed his book Religion, Power, Politics. Raiser is a theologian from Germany and author of many works in the area of political ethics and public theology, including For a Culture of Life: Transforming Globalization and Violence.

The WCC has devoted 60 years of active commitment to gender justice. The WCC 10th Assembly being held in Busan, Republic of Korea is continuing the campaign for advocacy for gender justice. The WCC, in partnership with Korean women, has designed an encounter space – Umulga SHe-Space in the Madang exhibition hall at the WCC assembly.