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A gender advisory group representing member churches of the WCC has begun working by developing procedures and policies to help the WCC in accomplishing gender justice in institutions, communities and societies – an objective lying at the core of its vision of a “pilgrimage of gender justice”.

Swedish communication specialist Marianne Ejdersten has recently been appointed as director for Communication at the WCC.

Pilgrimage towards peace and justice formed the theme of remarks opening the 5-day Ecumenical Peace Consultation in Sigtuna, Sweden. The WCC general secretary invited 80 participants from all over the world to join in a common journey of hope.

Nathan Söderblom was appointed Archbishop of Uppsala and primate of the Church of Sweden in November – one hundred years ago. A Nobel laureate and a well-known theologian, Söderblom was instrumental in building the modern ecumenical movement and a concept of global Christian fellowship which later contributed to the creation of the WCC.

Volunteers for the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel have urged the European Union to take more effective actions against the illegal settlements, demolitions and forced displacement in the occupied territory controlled by the Israeli authorities.

Erik Lysén, director of International Affairs at the Church of Sweden, a member church of the WCC, has called the recognition of Palestine an important step towards the peace process.

Recently, a representative of the WCC, the Swedish crown princess, church leaders and thousands of others took part in the celebration of one thousand years of Christianity in Sweden held in the Diocese of Skara in southern Sweden.

Bishop Eva Brunne from Stockholm is one of three Swedes on the Central Committee of the WCC, which met in Geneva 2-8 July. “The Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace” became the central focus of the Committee’s work.

Anders Wejryd, one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Archbishop Emeritus of the Church of Sweden, has been committed to climate issues since the start of the 1970s and the worldwide oil crisis of that time. To attain a vision of life in God’s kingdom – a healed creation and humanity in a harmony of justice, freedom and peace – Wejryd believes the issue of climate change must be taken seriously. He says that it is about safeguarding the creation, but that it is also an issue of justice and peace.

The WCC general secretary extended greetings from the worldwide fellowship of churches to Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén at her inauguration. Jackelén, born 1955 in Germany, was ordained in the Church of Sweden in 1980, and elected to be Sweden's first female archbishop in October 2013.

The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches elected eight new presidents today during a closed session at its proceedings in Busan, Republic of Korea.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has conveyed his best wishes and prayers for Rev. Dr Antje Jackelén on her appointment as archbishop of the Church of Sweden. A Lutheran pastor, and bishop in Lund in southern Sweden, Jackelén is the first woman to hold this position.

In a call to celebrate Time for Creation, Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, encouraged the churches to pay attention to the “human interventions impacting the ecological balance”.

Joakim Book Jonnson, a salesman for a security company and a member of the Church of Sweden, transformed his urban commuter life when he decided to leave, at least temporarily, no ecological footprint.