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Progress and current challenges in eliminating global statelessness were discussed during a public event at the UNHCR’s headquarters in Geneva on 27 October, marking the second anniversary of the global #IBelong campaign.

When the WCC joined the Blue Communities Project on 25 October, water and eco-justice advocates from around the world offered congratulations, while at the same time urging WCC member churches to join the quest for global water and sanitation rights.

A delegation from the WCC, led by WCC Central Committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom, visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 21-22 October as an expression of solidarity to the member churches there. The delegation met with leaders of member churches, members of the Ethiopian interfaith council, and government representatives.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change (WGCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fkyse Tveit, WCC general secretary, emphasized the importance of facing climate justice issues with spiritual commitment and multidisciplinary collaborative preparedness. “Christians should look at climate change challenges through the lens of faith and hope in God’s love”, he reflected.

Churches need a “holistic and inclusive vision of just peace” in the face of national and international conflicts, the moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr Agnes Abuom, said at an international peace consultation in Berlin.

After nearly a year of effort, archivists at the WCC have prepared a significant part of European ecumenical history for lasting preservation and use. Through their efforts, the Geneva history of the Conference of European Churches is catalogued online and ready for public use.

At a consultation on religion and development on 28 September, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit shared thoughts on an emerging global religion and development agenda. The meeting was convened by the ACT Alliance. Tveit and other participants shared their thoughts on how faith-based and humanitarian groups can work together to help reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Grand Imam of Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and university, Prof. Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb, will visit the WCC to give a public lecture and participate in high-level dialogue on interreligious peacemaking. “We are honoured to welcome one of the world’s highest-ranking and most influential Muslim leaders to Geneva, and I very much look forward to his lecture and to sharing views with him on the many challenges that we as religious persons and leaders face together,” says WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

“What happens when we journey on a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage of justice and peace, with people who share our values but who may or may not accept the institution of the church? And what does it mean to be on a pilgrimage of justice and peace, when the next generation shares our concerns for justice and peace, and want to follow God, but do not share our spirituality as confined by church and by tradition?”

“Bossey opened my mind and my horizon.” These words from a former student touched Rev. Dr Dagmar Heller, dean of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, one month ago as the two met at a conference.

The Ecumenical Institute at Château de Bossey is observing its 70th anniversary with notable speakers, creative worship, prayer services and a book launch, over the weekend of 30 September - 2 October.

Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist religious leaders met this week in Assisi to discuss peace, while across the ocean in New York City global political leaders assembled at the United Nations also focussed on a troubled world.

The WCC is committed to a just peace in Palestine and Israel with a view that this conflict is about justice with deep moral dimensions that must be given proper weight by all if we are to reach a lasting solution. Religion can both contribute to the increase of the level of conflict, or help establish peace. Read the interview with the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Germany’s main Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have published a “Common Word” for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 in which they call for a “healing of memories” of past divisions and for the event to be commemorated in ecumenical fellowship.

Roman Catholic and WCC representatives are forging new ways of working together on today’s most pressing issues.

Religious leaders must break their silence with regard to young people and sexual reproductive health, agreed young people and theologians gathered in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) from 6-7 September.

From 13 to 17 September 2016, members of the Joint Working Group overseen by leaders of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches will meet at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland. Part of the focus for the meeting, is to review relations between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church.

“The people of the Caribbean have a rich story to tell, one that can enrich the spiritual lives of Christians around the world,” said Fr Anthony Currer of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. That very story was shared in a heartfelt way this week at an ecumenical gathering to create the first draft of the text that will be used for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2018.

Receiving the news that Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Peter Turkson as president of the newly created dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the WCC expressed expectation to cooperation with the new structure, as it relates to several dimensions of work and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church worldwide.

"We worship in different languages and cultures, yet all one in Christ. This is an immensely enriching experience,” said Dr Jude Long, principal of Nungalinya College, in Darwin, Australia, as she explored spirituality with indigenous people from across the world this week.