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An independent expert panel has been appointed to review current UNAIDS policies and processes for addressing and preventing harassment. Among the members is Dr Fulata Moyo, former World Council of Churches programme executive for a Just Community of Women and Men.

Whether as individual believers or as a community, it is our collective task to advocate for Christian unity, says Melanio L. Aoanan from the Philippines. A clear vision for religious and ecumenical theological education is needed that is relevant in the 21st century.

WCC Communication shares a brief overview of the Central Committee meeting held in Geneva on 15-21 June, 2018.

“Christ’s call for abundant life (John 10:10) means that the church must work to address the enormity of challenges, including access to water resources, care for creation, and adequate health care,” said Rev. Matthew Ross during a World Council of Churches (WCC) seminar on young people’s involvement in “Ecumenical Diakonia and Sustainable Development,” held in Matanzas, Cuba, July 15-20.

Dr Erlinda N. Senturias, from the Philippines, gives thanks that WCC has created safe spaces for the churches to talk about HIV and AIDS. She asks that the ecumenical movement continue to be a beacon of support for this ongoing journey of health and healing.

As Colombia strives to pave the road to just peace, new death threats against social, union and religious leaders and institutions were issued by paramilitaries earlier this week. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is closely following the developments and reiterates its full support to those committed to working for peace in the country.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit is condemning an attack on renowned social activist Swami Agnivesh in Jharkhand state in northeast India. A violent mob of alleged fringe fundamentalist groups in the Pakur district attacked Agnivesh on the same day as a Supreme Court judgment called mob lynching unacceptable and holding the local administration, the state and central governments responsible for preventing it.

The Korean Christian Federation Central Committee (North Korea) and the National Council of Churches in Korea (South Korea) have composed their annual joint prayer for peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula for 2018. The World Council of Churches is inviting its fellowship and all people of goodwill to use the prayer during worship, especially on 12 August, the weekend before August 15th, the anniversary of Korea's liberation and division.

Fifty young Christians and Muslims ages 20-25 are meeting 8-18 July for an Emerging Peacemakers Forum offering training in peacemaking and reconciliation at the Churchill College of Cambridge University in the UK. They will meet with international religious leaders, including the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and president of the Muslim Council of Elders Prof. Dr Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.

Under the title “Pentecostal Mission Theology,” the latest issue of the World Council of Churches’ journal International Review of Mission offers contributions from Pentecostal perspectives on mission in various contexts.

Originally, they were made of pieces of broken glass from the rubble an Israeli tank left behind it when it slammed into the giftshop at the International Centre of Bethlehem (ICB) in 2002. Today the glass angels of peace are made of used bottles and have emerged into a small business enterprise employing around 50 people in the Bethlehem area. Since the tank-incident, thousands of angels have been produced and sold worldwide.

As reports unfolded on 12 July of Israel announcing the demolition of a Bedouin village within days despite a temporary injunction, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit condemned the plans for demolition, saying it violates human rights, particularly those of vulnerable children, who live in Khan al-Ahmar.

Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity (YATRA) began at the Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre, Hong Kong on 7 July. Drawing young women and men from across the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship in Asia as well as theological institutions, the focus of this year’s YATRA is ‘Passionately Christian and Compassionately Interreligious’.

Entitled “Sharing faith, nurturing hope”, the WCC Annual Review 2017 is now available in four languages: English, French, German and Spanish. The annual review of the WCC records many of the activities undertaken by the council during 2017 and continuing into 2018.

The signing of the National Covenanting Document in Australia in 2004 was a significant ecumenical milestone. Ray Williamson Oam traces this journey towards deeper unity with its roots in the Canberra Statement of the WCC 7th Assembly.

A new report by Christian Aid - the UK charity - has cautioned that securing long-term peace in South Sudan requires much more than agreements between political leaders.

After the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a declaration saying that the war between the two countries is over, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit praised the agreement as opening a new door for peace in the region.

In a 9 July letter, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit invited the WCC global fellowship and all people of good will to participate in the World Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel on 16-23 September.

In a lecture that opened a summer course offered by the foundation Pro Oriente in Vienna, Austria, on 9 July, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit commemorated the WCC’s 70-year history and described its ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the passing of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID).