During the global pandemic it is not any more possible to be present at special celebrations in the ecumenical and global fellowship. The new realities connect the local and global work in a new and innovative way. The WCC is present digitally in many gatherings.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) extended greetings and prayers to the 105th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, which convened under the theme “Restore us, O Lord, in truth and love.”
The Church of South India synod observed a month-long “Pray in Tears for Others” during August to help people mourn and reflect on the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 August, the prayer campaign focused specifically on the World Council of Churches as well as all ecumenical efforts across the world.
More than 40 church leaders and diakonia specialists from 15 Asian countries participated in training in ecumenical diakonia and development organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 4-7 December.
The Ecumenical Women's Assembly recently ended a weeklong meeting in Taiwan with calls to repent from greed and for Asian women to become advocates and catalysts of reconciliation, renewal, and restoration in the world, communities, and in churches.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) global fellowship expressed its sadness upon the passing of Rev. Dr Augustine G. Jeyakumar, on 31 October in Chennai, India. Jeyakumar was the executive secretary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India, director of Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, and the treasurer of the National Council of Churches of India.
Rev. Dr P.C. Singh met with World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 10 October to discuss the ecumenical movement - today and tomorrow.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the loss of Bishop Barnabas D. Mondal, know for his support of theological education in South Asia, and for being the first national bishop and the former moderator of the Church of Bangladesh. He passed away on 29 June in Dhaka.
As the Anglican Consultative Council convened in Hong Kong on 1 May, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered a reflection on Anglican contributions to unity.
The Christian Conference of Asia gathered over 100 participants representing seven religions including Christian, Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish, Bahai, Hindu and Sikh to meet with the participants of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace Reference Group to discuss relevant issues about religion and their implications to the Asian society.
On 14 February, the Global Christian Forum Committee concluded a fruitful five-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where priorities were carved out and future directions of the network outlined.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit “received with joy” the news of the verdict which has resolved the long pending case of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman convicted and sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws in 2010.
The National Christian Council (NCC) in Japan and other faith-based groups in the nation have issued a joint statement regarding comments from Masahiko Shibayama, minister of education and science, about the “Imperial Rescript of Education.”
As the death toll from an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia soared above 800 on Sunday, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit urged all people of good will across the world to reach out in support, care, help and prayer to thousands of earthquake survivors coping with the aftermath.
From 18-20 September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is hosting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a regional meeting of some 30 people with responsibilities for ecumenical relations in several churches in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Even though flood survivors are displaced in some 2,000 relief camps across Kerala in south India, many of them observed the indigenous Malayali festival of Onam on 25 August in whatever way they could. The traditional festival, for thousands, carried an even more poignant meaning because the holiday celebrates the return of joy to the land: the story of the return of King Mahabali, considered to be a very kind and generous ruler, during a “golden period” in Kerala.
As Kerala, the southern state of India, nicknamed “God’s Own Country,” battles one of the worst flood disasters in a century, various religious communities have opened their doors to help homeless people.
As people in Seoul held a candlelight vigil on 7 June to pray for peace on the Korean Peninsula, they were joined by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), and hundreds of others across the world.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death and remembering the life of Rev. Dr Dong Sung Kim, WCC programme executive for Diakonia and Ecumenical Solidarity, renowned pastor, peace negotiator and author of many texts on diakonia. Kim lived out a passion for peace and reconciliation both in the land of his origins and around the world as a faithful pilgrim for justice and peace.
Participants in a 7-11 December consultation on ecumenical diakonia held in Seoul, South Korea, didn’t just talk about the important concept of service. They also took time to visit local projects where Korean Christians are fleshing out their call to actively practice diakonia in the communities they serve.
