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World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay held productive talks with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Anglican Communion leaders.

A special COP26 service involving Christian churches and organisations from around the world will be held at Glasgow Cathedral on Sunday afternoon. (7 November). The event, which has been organised by Glasgow Churches Together, will be attended by guests from countries including Australia, Fiji, and Zimbabwe, as a show of solidarity for global climate justice.

A webinar held 22 October gave space for persons with disabilities to share their reflections. Entitled “From Lamentation to Transformation,” the event, first in a series of webinars on COVID-19 perspectives, highlighted hope through stories, practical support, and social change as experienced by persons with disabilities.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, met with the general of The Salvation Army, Brian Peddle, at The Salvation Army International Headquarters in London. The two leaders focused on the relationship between The Salvation Army and the WCC, and on the upcoming 11th WCC Assembly to be held in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

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.

WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

Many ecumenical pioneers, including former WCC general secretary Philip Potter, were in a sense a product of the Sunday School movement. Ulrich Becker tells a story that seems to be in danger of being forgotten.

During a visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on 16 February, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke on an “ecumenism of action” as he also congratulated the WCC on its 70th anniversary.

An ecumenical service described as “A Service to Mark the 500th anniversary of the 95 Theses and the Start of the Reformation” was held in Westminster Abbey, London, on 31 October.

The WCC has begun the process of digitally publishing its Faith and Order Papers, a set of legacy materials comprising 300 discrete publications and totaling 35,000 pages.

Two major crises have marked the months since the WCC called Katalina Tahaafe-Williams to work in Geneva on its migration, indigenous, and multicultural ministry programmes. When she took up the job in October, the European refugee crisis was in full flow. Then in November, terrorists attacked Paris.

A WCC delegation visited Ireland from 28 November to 1 December to explore how the international ecumenical community may best support churches in the global fellowship and work together on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

In view of the current refugee crisis, European churches are being encouraged to deepen their efforts in receiving, supporting and protecting refugees who arrive in the region. This call was made in a letter issued jointly by the WCC, the Conference of European Churches and the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.

In the wake of recent crisis with the refugees in Europe, it is “absolutely and critically necessary that all European states take their proper responsibility in terms of reception and support for people seeking refuge, safety and a better future for themselves and their families. This cannot be left only to the states where they enter first,” says the WCC general secretary.

Meeting from 17 to 24 June, the newly reconstituted Commission on Faith and Order of the WCC has begun to define its principal trajectories for ecumenical study and common activity from 2015 until the next WCC Assembly in 2020.