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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.

Despite significant steps taken by the Kenyan government, coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network Dr Samuel Kabue says that “more needs to be done” so that people with disability can enjoy their rights.

When Rev. Rex Reyes leaves as Christian Conference of Asia president of clergy after two general assemblies and one term as president, the organization loses a humble and very articulate man firmly rooted in the faith.

“From the very beginning, women in the ecumenical movement have been raising the question of who is missing around the table and why,” said Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, speaking at the Latin American Congress on Gender and Religion.

The nuclear attack on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 revealed the brutality and dangerous logic of war, money and power, according to an Indigenous Anglican bishop from Canada.

A declaration emphasizing the need for greater convergence in the struggles for justice and rights of communities, particularly for land, water, forests, natural resources, livelihood and identity, was the outcome of a meeting in Nepal, involving civil society organizations and social movements.

The possibility of a new economic framework is the chief focus of the newly published issue of The Ecumenical Review. Informed by years of ecumenical work on the relationship of poverty, wealth and ecology (including the proposal for a “greed line”), the 14 contributors offer an array of insights from specific contexts and religious standpoints – Dalits, South Africans, Latin Americans, Indigenous spirituality, feminist theology and non-Christian religions – into the values and structures that can create an “economy of life” for all.

Bishop Mark MacDonald shared views on indigenous peoples and climate change in an interview with WCC Communications. "We are entering an era in which the public has a broader awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples," he said.

Violence against children was one emerging issue discussed at the Christian Conference of Asia's assembly. “It is still a sad reality in large parts of the world, but momentum to end violence against children is growing within governments and communities, amongst parents and religious leaders. This is a good thing since it takes everyone to make a change”, says Lauren Rumble, UNICEF’s chief of child protection in Indonesia.

In the wake of the release of a summary report by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, member churches in Canada belonging to the WCC are beginning what they acknowledge will be a painful pilgrimage toward recognizing the mistreatment of their country’s indigenous peoples and ensuring such abuse will not happen again.

Germany’s biggest Protestant convention, the Kirchentag, ended in Stuttgart with an open-air service and an invitation to the next gathering in 2017, a year that marks 500 years since the Reformation unleashed by Martin Luther.

The Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan’s diocese of Wau has developed a course titled “Reconcile - Moving Forward in Peace”, inviting people to be peace-builders this Lenten season.

To say no to all kinds of excuses that justify violence against women and girls, the WCC invites its member churches and partners to join the World YWCA campaign “NoXcuses for Violence against Women”.

Members of the WCC's Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network met in the Netherlands to develop a new statement with the working title "Gift of Being: Called to be a Church of All and for All". The new document is founded on the premise that persons with disabilities experience marginalization both in societies and in the church communities themselves.

An emphasis on establishing societies that offer opportunities for fulfillment and development to all was endorsed by participants in a meeting at Bogota, Colombia. Such societies, they said, would especially benefit people with disabilities in Latin America, a region where prevalence of disability is high, as reported by the Economic Commission for Latin America.

“God calls everyone, including persons with disabilities, to the fullness of life in Christ,” states a communiqué issued at a consultative workshop on “Theology and Disability” organized in Nigeria by churches and ecumenical organizations. It emphasizes, “God is the sovereign and loving Creator of all people including persons with disabilities.”

As the members of the WCC Central Committee return to their home communities, they will continue some key questions related to their pilgrimage of justice and peace.

A group of activists from Manipur, India, visited the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 26 March, sharing accounts of human rights violations in their region and efforts to lobby against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act at the 25th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, concluded on 8 November, acting to inspire churches to renew their commitments to justice and peace. Through varied encounters and dialogue within the fellowship of churches, the Assembly has made concrete decisions and recommendations setting priorities for the future work of the WCC.

Migrants are reduced to mere commodities, traded and exchanged in the global market, according to a declaration issued by churches calling for an end to this gross violation of human dignity. The declaration was issued on the occasion of the Second United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in New York City, USA.