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During a special service concluding the Church of Sweden’s General Synod on 24 November, Archbishop Antje Jackelén made an official apology from the Church of Sweden to the Sámi for historical abuse.

The First World War had started, and the planet was in crisis when he became Archbishop of Uppsala in 1914, but through it all, ecumenical trailblazer and peace-seeker Nathan Söderblom envisioned a new way for the church, a man who acted.

In a special greeting from the World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Dr Agnes Abuom expressed her thankfulness to the Church of Sweden and its members, for everything they have done for ecumenism.

The WCC Executive Committee met in Uppsala, Sweden from 1-8 November to approve the 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 seven statements in response to current situations. The Executive Committee also discerned the way forward for the WCC’s Communication Strategy.

“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.

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.”

It’s 70 years since the World Council of Churches was founded in Amsterdam on 23 August. In addition to a commemoration service in Amsterdam on 23 August, the WCC, its member churches and partners are planning a variety of events to move forward on our ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, and at the same time honour and learn from these 70 years of ecumenical endeavour. Dr Abuom, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, is the moderator of the WCC Central Committee. She is the first woman and the first African in the position in WCC’s history. In an interview, she reflects on the evolution of the WCC in the past 70 years.

A plenary discussion on support by religious communities for the rights of children, and a first draft of the statement of “principles for child-friendly churches,” captured the imagination of the Central Committee of the WCC on 27 June. The document will now undergo further revision and be resubmitted at the next WCC executive committee meeting.

Women and children figure prominently as refugees in mass movements of people in recent months and their rights will be at the forefront of a summer school organized in Greece by the Conference of European Churches.

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.

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”.

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.