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Peace education to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between people involving the religious and secular sectors is needed to counter uncertainty fed by radicalization and xenophobia, says a leading human rights advocate.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), ACT Alliance and the German Protestant development service Bread for the World are appealing to world leaders to take swift and coordinated action to limit global warming to 1.5°C degrees as a humanitarian and ethical obligation.

In an address to the general assembly of Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy in Rome on 16 November, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed gratitude for those who help refugees and migrants. At the same time, Tveit mourned the nearly 2,000 people who have died or are missing while trying to make the journey to reach the Mediterranean in the first ten months of 2018.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Centro Pro Unione, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke on 15 November in Rome about “What Does Mutual Accountability Mean for Christians and the Christian Life?”

As an observance of the centenary of the end of World War I, the board of the European peace church network Church and Peace publicly called for active remembrance through nonviolence, pointing to the Gospel as a basis for this call.

In an acceptance speech at VID Specialized University, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate, Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, spoke on “Life in Fullness: Challenges and Prospects for Church/Mission.”

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from VID Specialized University, one of Norway’s largest private universities.

Dr. Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, offered a speech entitled “A Clarion Christian Call to Justice and Peace: Ending Global Inequality and Climate injustice” at the Justice Conference in Oslo, Norway on 9 November.

On 6 November, Rev. Samson Olasupo A. Ayokunle, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Baptist Convention, offered a morning prayer about “Empowering Our Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace through Love" during the WCC Executive Committee meeting in Uppsala, Sweden.

In its continuing efforts to outlaw nuclear weapons, the WCC has issued public support for French Polynesia’s petition to the UN for redress for ongoing effects of nuclear testing there.

It ended 100 years ago, and on 11 November, church leaders will remember World War One, praying and calling for reconciliation, despite a century passing since one of humanity’s most brutal conflicts.
From Flanders in Belgium to villages across France, the UK and Germany, bells will toll to remember.

A lifetime of devotion to the ecumenical movement shone when WCC moderator Dr Agnes Abuom shared her reflections and hopes Sunday morning in a keynote speech on the final day of the ecumenical weekend. Her address was followed by a sermon in the Uppsala Cathedral by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee, meeting this week in Uppsala, Sweden, heard the report of WCC Central Committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom and WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

In a closing sermon at the ACT Alliance Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden, Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, vice moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, spoke on the theme of the ACT Assembly, “Hope In Action - Putting People First.”

On a Joint Day of Reflection on Ecumenical Diakonia and Sustainable Development held 1 November, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance reflected together on how the organisations work together in service to the world and how that work contributes to the broader agenda for sustainable development.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee will convene in Uppsala, Sweden 1 – 8 November to approve 2019 programme plans and budget, follow up and decide on a variety of assembly matters, review the WCC strategic plan, discuss world affairs and issue statements in response to current situations.

“We look forward to working closely with you in the fulfillment of people’s hopes and needs worldwide to the glory of the one God”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a message of greeting to Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, elected moderator of the governing board of ACT Alliance, on 31 October, in Uppsala, Sweden.

In 1968, the ecumenical movement took an important step forward when its commitment to global justice and peace was manifested at the WCC general assembly in Uppsala, Sweden. Half a century later, the Ecumenical Weekend, which kicks off on Saturday in the very same Swedish city, will not only celebrate 50 years of global ecumenism, it also raises urgent issues and new challenges facing the ecumenical movement.

During an opening speech at the ACT Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden on 29 October, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected on hope and unity, and how those can bring justice to all people.

Archbishop Antje Jackelén, primate of the Church of Sweden, opened the ACT Assembly on 28 October in Uppsala with a sermon reflecting on the theme of the assembly, “Hope in action – putting people first.”