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Participants in the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism pre-assembly event bring concerns of the marginalized, including women, young people, Dalits, Indigenous Peoples and minorities into the heart of the debate on mission and evangelism.

The pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism saw churches' renewed commitment and different approaches to mission and evangelism in a context of rapid change in society, politics and church.

On 24 March 2012, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism pre-assembly event invoked renewed thinking and commitment on evangelism, disassociated from the forces of oppression, and grounded in humility and respect for all.

Transformative spiritualities and mission is a significant point of discussion at the pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) which is currently under way in Manila. Transformative spiritualities are also one of the constituent themes of the CWME statement on mission and evangelism that will be presented to the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Korea in 2013. Dr Rico Palaca Ponce, academic director of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia based in Quezon City, the Philippines, gave an interview on the topic on 23 March.

With more than 200 participants from around the globe, an event of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) starts today in Manila, the Philippines. Its aim is to seek renewed thinking on mission and evangelism, developing a draft of the WCC statement on mission and evangelism that succeeds a statement of thirty years ago.

"€œThe situation of human rights violations remains worrisome in the Philippines. It ranges from vilification, harassment, torture, evacuation due to military operations and other inhumane treatment of political prisoners," Marie Hilao-Enriquez told the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and other WCC staff during an encounter in Manila, Philippines on 21 March.

Since 1982 there has been only one official statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on mission and evangelism. Now in 2012 the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) is preparing another statement to invoke new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst changing world and ecclesial scenarios.

A new video from the World Council of Churches (WCC) called The Changing Face of Mission explores the history of mission since the 1910 Edinburgh conference on mission, and how during the past century mission has changed.

Justice must be the guiding principle for the upcoming summit on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, church organizations say.

Recent violent acts of terror in south-western France have been condemned in the strongest terms by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

"Unity, understood as growing together, gives us hope for a life together, a life in solidarity, a life where we can be included and strengthened, becoming able to be more than we can be alone." These words are representative of a vision shared by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) during recent conversations with Christians in Canada.

“Christians are to acknowledge that changing one’s religion is a decisive step that must be accompanied by sufficient time for reflection and preparation, through a process ensuring full personal freedom.” This assertion is one of the guiding principles for Christian mission in India suggested in early March by a consultation convened under the leadership of the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore University (BTESSC).

Joachim Gauck, a former Protestant pastor in East Germany and noted human rights activist, was elected on Sunday 18 March as president of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Pope Shenouda III, spiritual leader of the Egyptian Coptic Church since 1971 and a president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 1991 to 1998, passed away of natural causes on Saturday 17 March. In a letter to the church dated 18 March, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit paid tribute to Pope Shenouda’s unwavering pursuit of Christian unity and peace throughout the Middle East and the world.

A group of Christian leaders from Odisha (formerly Orissa), India visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) offices, sharing their experiences on working for religious freedom and lobbying for justice on behalf of religious minorities during the current session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Following an announcement from Lambeth Palace, London, that Dr Rowan Williams will be stepping down from his position as Archbishop of Canterbury, the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed admiration for the archbishop’s ongoing leadership and his significant contribution to the ecumenical movement spanned over several years.

“Words alone are inadequate to express our sorrow,” wrote World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to the churches and people of Belgium following the death on Tuesday 13 March of 22 children and six adults in the crash of a hired coach near Sierre, Switzerland.

To commemorate World Water Day, the World Council of Churches will be hosting a painting exhibition with the theme Agua (water) by renowned Argentine painter and artist, Néstor Favre-Mossier. His paintings will be displayed at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva from 19 March in the afternoon to 23 March.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has admired the Taizé community’s ecumenical approach to spirituality though “prayer, singing and silence”. “As we all work towards Christian unity, Taizé shows us how to be guests in prayer and overcome our divisions with humility,” said Tveit.

In The Ecumenical Review of March 2012, Christian experts survey the current position of churches throughout the Middle East. According to the editors, past year’s historic events in the Arab world “have highlighted the aspirations to citizens for their dignity and freedom”, yet these same developments “have also raised new and serious challenges for the many Christian communities there.”