Maltese creators of the newly available materials for the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have focused on hospitality to the stranger as their theme, evoking the shipwrecked Apostle Paul’s statement that “They showed us unusual kindness” there (Acts 28:2).
Following the WCC/UN High Level Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, which took place at the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on 18-19 January, a statement has been issued entitled "Europe’s Response to the Refuge Crisis, From Origin to Transit, Reception and Refuge, A Call for Shared Responsibility and Coordinated Action”.
Deeply concerned for migrants in many regions, especially those “driven to undertake journeys of desperate risk and danger”, the WCC Executive Committee has declared: “All members of the international community have a moral and legal duty to save the lives of those in jeopardy at sea or in transit, regardless of their origin and status.”
Participants in a recent WCC consultation in Myanmar have stressed the need to equip churches and ecumenical organizations to build peace, human security and human dignity in order to move beyond conflicts, towards a world of peace.