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Speaking during the Lenten season that builds to the central Christian hope of the risen Christ, World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Rev. Dr Walter Altmann addressed the Central Committee on Wednesday 13 February with a renewed call to "visible unity" in the church.

At today's ecumenical Vespers service presided by Pope Benedict XVI, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia underlined the importance of "a church that is one and united in its witness" to a world marked by violence and disunity.  The service in Rome marked the conclusion of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Methodist archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen of Nigeria has been chosen to moderate the Continuation Committee on Ecumenism in the 21st Century, a group assigned to monitor and encourage initiatives in the global quest for Christian unity. He was affirmed by consensus of the fourteen members attending the committee's first meeting during the week of 18-20 November in Bossey, Switzerland.

After four days of meetings, some 240 leaders of a broad range of churches, confessions and interchurch organizations from over 70 countries agreed to carry forward what they call "the Global Christian Forum process", an open platform for encounter and dialogue whose goal is to "foster mutual respect, explore and address common challenges".

Pentecostal theologian and scholar Cheryl Bridges-Johns proposed a radical reinvention of the ecumenical movement in a keynote address delivered on the third day of the Global Christian Forum which takes place 6-9 November in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya.

By Juan Michel (*)

"Some would have said that this event was not possible, but here we are - and the world wonders what will come next," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia at the opening of the Global Christian Forum taking place in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya, from 6-9 November.

A unique gathering of high level church leaders to start Tuesday 6 November near Nairobi, Kenya, features the broadest range of Christian traditions ever represented at a global meeting, allowing for a discussion of unprecedented ecumenical breadth on what Christians are called to do - together if possible - in the world today.

Students of theology and young theologians are being invited by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to bring new perspectives and contributions to the debate about the future of the ecumenical movement by participating in an essay competition to mark the Council's 60th anniversary.