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From 3-8 July, gender justice advocates from over thirty countries are convening at the Ecumenical Center, in Geneva, Switzerland, for an advocacy training on women’s human rights for faith-based organizations.

To mark the visit of Pope Francis to the WCC on 21 June, a special online “Virtual Issue” of the WCC’s quarterly journal, The Ecumenical Review, is offering a set of articles about relationships between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Ecumenical Institute Bossey, which Pope Francis visits on Thursday, 21 June, as part of his pilgrimage to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, is a workshop of ideas, where the future path toward Christian unity is being mapped out.

Gathered in prayer in the Bossey chapel on 14 June, the WCC Ecumenical Institute saw eight new students graduate with a Master of Advanced Studies in Ecumenical Studies.

The Theological Faculty of Aristoteleion University in Thessaloniki organized an international colloquium on 19-20 April to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as well as the 70th anniversary of the election of Patriarch Athenagoras as head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Rev. Prof. Dr Rudolf von Sinner, professor of Systematic Theology, Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue as well as moderator of World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Education and Formation Commission, offered a public lecture on 13 April at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva as part of the WCC’s ongoing observance of its 70th anniversary this year.

An exhibit entitled “Faith in Gender Justice” will open in the Scottish Parliament on 8 March in conjunction with International Women’s Day.

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser has been on an ecumenical journey for most of his adult life, which spans 80 years. The former WCC general secretary relates some of this pilgrimage in his newest publication, “The Challenge of Transformation: An Ecumenical Journey.” On 5 February, shortly after Raiser’s birthday, ecumenical experts from different generations, confessions and continents met in Geneva to discuss the newest publication by the man who led the WCC from 1993 to 2003.

Through a ceremony on 26 January, the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey saw 21 students from 20 countries and 10 denominations embark on a future of ecumenical work in their respective home countries and contexts.

The WCC invites applications of church-engaged youth to undertake an internship with the council at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva in 2018. With application deadline 15 March, available work areas include Communication, Health and Healing, Just Community of Women and Men, and Commission of the Churches on International Affairs.

Young adults from more than 60 countries gathered in Basel for the 40th annual Taizé European Meeting of Young Adults from 28 December - 1 January. As part of a new stage of the Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth, the meeting took place for the first time in a tri-national region (Switzerland, Germany, France).

The WCC invites ecumenical youth to be stewards at the 2018 Central Committee in Geneva, Switzerland. With application deadline 31 January, the Stewards Programme aims to bring together a dynamic and diverse group of 20 young people from all over the world from 5-23 June 2018.

With deadline on 30 November, the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey now invites applications for the study year of 2018-19.

“Ecumenism without youth is ecumenism without a future”, said Prof. Dr Esther Mombo at the opening of the annual meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation (CEEF), being held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 9-13 October.

Gathering in Sibiu, Romania, the World Council of Churches (WCC) youth commission ECHOS met on 17-20 August for days of discernment on the position and role of youth in the ecumenical movement today, and to set the future path of the commission, as it journeys on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, offered her reflections on the concept of reformation at a seminar during St Olav’s Festival in July.

Last week, young Jewish, Muslim and Christian students learned about communication and peacebuilding during a workshop at the Ecumenical Centre, all with the hope of serving as peacemakers in their own contexts. The session was led by Marianne Ejdersten, director of WCC Communication.

As young people earned an interreligious studies certificate at the World Council of Churches Bossey Institute, they completed their three-week course with unified thoughts on promoting peace. In a communique issued on 13 July, they identified themselves as Jews, Christians and Muslims - children of Abraham - with a unique openness.

Katariina Väisänen from Finland is used to ecumenical experiences, but was pleased at a course on peacebuilding in Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Geneva on how much she could share with her fellow participants due to their common humanity.

“The world is calling upon the faith leaders to use their power for justice for the excluded and discriminated against, and for the exploited planet earth,” says WCC deputy general secretary Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri.