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With a focus on peacebuilding and human rights protection, The United Evangelical Mission’s International Summer School 2023, organized in cooperation with the World Council of Churches and other partners, took place in August and September in Hofgeismar, Germany.

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.

Meaningful participation by women in a conflict resolution and peace-building promotes a more sustainable peace, a panel discussion with women peace-makers concluded, after the screening of a documentary on the 2015 “Women Cross the DMZ” initiative.

The following feature begins a series of reflections from churches in different countries on "reconciliation" in the midst of conflict and division, following the theme of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” As the WCC commits to working together as a fellowship on a “Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity,” these stories explore how deepened relationships can lead to understanding and radical change.

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.

During the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly, a group of Korean youth from the Korean Methodist Church hosted a workshop—and they dressed like characters from the Netflix show, Squid Game. The well-known series is a form of social commentary on how inequalities affect vulnerable people. The show addresses poverty, youth, violence, survival, and political conquest—and this provided a creative framework for looking into the current situations of not only Korean youth but also those of many other countries, especially in the Global South.

Gathering at the St Stephan Church in Karlsruhe, Germany, people from across the world joined together on 5 September to pray for peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.

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.

If the historic ecumenical document, the Charta Oecumenica, signed 20 years ago, is to hold its relevance for another two decades and beyond, Christians need to continue heeding Paul's letter to the Galatians (3:28). That is the opinion of Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, who was teaching in an ecumenical community in Birmingham, UK, at the now-disbanded Selly Oak Colleges, at the United College of the Ascension when the charter was signed in 2001.