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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is among signatories on a joint letter to H.E. Sri Narendra Modi—prime minister of the Republic of India and chair of the Group of Twenty (G20)—which urges G20 leaders to adopt a New International Financial and Economic Architecture.

Rev. Dr Santanu Kumar Patro, registrar of the Senate of Serampore College (University), passed away on 5 May in Calcutta. The news of his death was met with outpourings of grief and gratefulness from students, faculty and friends of seminaries and institutions responsible for theological education in South Asia and beyond.

During an online morning prayer service on 16 November, Bishop Arnold Temple, chairperson of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network and the president of All Africa Conference of Churches, reflected on World Toilet Day, which will be observed this year on 19 November.

The Protestant Church of South India’s sustainable environmental education initiative has been nominated for the 2019 UNESCO-Japan Prize.

Adv Rajendra Sail, a noted human rights activist and ecumenist from India, passed away on 26 January, at age 72. Sail stood out from the Christian community for his deeper engagements on human rights issues and bold steps in questioning the government on its failures to adhere to the principles of democracy and secular commitment.

More than 300 environmentalists - among them professors, students, scientists and religious leaders - gathered for the 5th International Eco Conference organized by the Church of South India.

His Eminence Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church celebrated his Episcopal Silver Jubilee, or 25 years in ministry, on 17 November. Metropolitan Nicholovos is a member of the WCC Executive Committee. In an interview with WCC Communication, he reflects on his 25-year milestone, as well as on the challenges and joys of the ecumenical movement today.

World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) coordinator Dinesh Suna attended the International Sanitation Convention from 29 September - 2 October in India. Suna shared his reflections on the conference, the role of EWN, and the future of sanitation and how it affects justice in the lives of millions of people.

The National Council of Churches in India and the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India have announced Dalit Liberation Sunday will be 11 November.

Even though flood survivors are displaced in some 2,000 relief camps across Kerala in south India, many of them observed the indigenous Malayali festival of Onam on 25 August in whatever way they could. The traditional festival, for thousands, carried an even more poignant meaning because the holiday celebrates the return of joy to the land: the story of the return of King Mahabali, considered to be a very kind and generous ruler, during a “golden period” in Kerala.

An international consultation on “Education for Transformation: Challenges and Prospects for Formation and Reformation” was organised to mark the bicentenary of Serampore College, and the centenary of the Senate of Serampore.

As Kerala, the southern state of India, nicknamed “God’s Own Country,” battles one of the worst flood disasters in a century, various religious communities have opened their doors to help homeless people.

WCC News meet with Dr Samuel George of the WCC Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN) at the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), held in Tanzania from 8-13 March, World Council of Churches (WCC). George, a Christian theology professor at Allahabad Bible Seminary in India, was invited by the WCC to make presentations on disability in various parts of the conference.

For Prof. Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel, the Asia Mission Conference is a big celebration of ecumenism, with churches from Asia and all over the world coming together expressing the call of Jesus. As director of the Ecumenical Christian Centre in Bangalore, India, he appreciates the initiative to bring member churches, faith organizations and partners together to revive mission.

Rt Rev. Dr Samuel Amirtham, an internationally renowned theologian, bishop and ecumenical leader, passed away on 26 September at the age of 85. Amirtham was a multifaceted and charismatic teacher, pastor, leader, and revolutionary, inspiring and accompanying many lives, from remote villages to universities, to the corridors of power.

“We’ve seen in the case of refugees, how the church takes a strong standpoint in welcoming those who have fled. But it isn’t always so easy in the congregations. There are many who feel fear, as we receive not only refugees but sometimes also people of other faiths. In this case, we can see a gap between what the church says, and what is actually lived.”