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In a congratulatory letter to Bishop Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Nis, who was elected patriarch by the holy assembly of bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Friday, 22 January, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed "extraordinary joy" at the news of the election.

Christians around the world celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year are remembering the 1910 World Missionary Conference in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh as a key initiative that led to the ecumenical movement.

Konrad Raiser, former general secretary of the World Council of Churches (1993-2003), was awarded an honorary doctor's degree by the University of Hamburg's faculty of evangelical theology on 18 January. The title recognizes Raiser's contributions in sharpening the theological profile of the WCC and the momentum he has more than once given to the ecumenical movement as a whole and to the ecumenical awareness of German churches in particular.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti after the earthquake there and has called for prompt support in the relief efforts.

In a 13 January solidarity letter to the churches in Malaysia, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed deep concern and profound sorrow about recent attacks against church buildings in the country following a controversy over the right of Christians to use the term "Allah" to refer to God.

"We are here to let everything begin in the name of Jesus: the New Year and the new decade for the world and for the ecumenical movement; and also the new phase in each of our lives – both individually and for all of us together," the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said in a sermon at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, on 11 January 2010, assuming his office as general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The prayer service was attended by staff of the WCC and other church organizations based in the Ecumenical Centre.

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010, Christians throughout the world will be listening together to the promise and commission that are part of Christ's final words before his ascension: "You are witnesses of these things."

The WCC general secretary paid tribute to Prof. Charles Birch, who recently died. Charles Birch was courageous and prophetic in using his knowledge and enormous gifts as an eminent biologist and a theologian.

By Juan Michel (*)

The WCC general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, wrote a letter to Uganda's President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, saying that the WCC was "saddened and distressed to receive the news from Uganda regarding a proposed law against homosexual individuals [...], which also proposes the death penalty to be meted to homosexual individuals who are HIV positive".

As the excitement of the Copenhagen climate change talks subsides, the time for matching reality with expectations has begun. From the perspective of the World Council of Churches (WCC) the outcome of the negotiations unfortunately did not match expectations.

World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, said the endorsement by the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem of the “Kairos Palestine” document “adds integrity, authority and force to the message of the document.”

"The present day reality shows that our sincere efforts have not been enough to bring in the age of social justice and peace," according to a statement delivered to the plenary of high-level segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday, 18 December on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its ecumenical partners.

This year's Christmas message from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is available in 17 languages reflecting the linguistic diversity of the WCC member churches: Arabic , Chinese , Dutch , English , Finnish , French , Georgian , German , Greek , Korean , Norwegian , Portuguese , Romanian , Russian , Samoan , Spanish and Kiswahili .

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has invited the submission of workshop proposals for the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) to take place in Jamaica in May 2011. Proposals must be submitted by 31 May 2010.

By Ranjan Solomon (*)

With the climate change negotiations sputtering and showing signs of being less than legally binding, ambitious and fair, leaders of churches and international church organizations sent a message to negotiators Tuesday evening imploring them to "not be afraid." The letter, which was signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the incoming and outgoing general secretaries of the World Council of Churches as well as church leaders from Europe, North America and the Pacific, says the negotiations are at a crucial stage and negotiators need to be steadfast to "act now."

By Mark Beach (*)

Half way through the UN climate summit in Copenhagen and after a week in which no breakthrough was achieved, ecumenical leaders have asked negotiators to be more ambitious.