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Aa the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, the World Council of Churches staff and partners gathered in a spirit of unity to “Do good; seek justice,” the theme of this year’s special week.

Media coverage of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly—held in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2022—indicated a global interest in how ecumenism can and will address the pressing concerns of the world, including climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Days before the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins, many across the world are getting ready by accessing the resources prepared by the Minnesota Council of Churches, based in the USA.

Expressing the profound sadness of the World Council of Churches (WCC) following the announcement by the Holy See of the death of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI today, the WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca stated:

“On behalf of the World Council of Churches, I express our deepest condolences on the passing of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He was the first pope to have come from a country, Germany, with a roughly equal balance between Protestants and Catholics, and one that had been at the very centre of the 16th century Reformation.”

The latest issue of the World Council of Churches (WCC) journal, International Review of Mission, focuses on the founding and history of the International Missionary Council (IMC) founded in 1921, following the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh.

The latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the World Council of Churches (WCC), focuses on “Black Theologies of Resistance, Existence, and Solidarity.”

The webinar “Rooting out gender cyberviolence: An introduction to social media monitoring” on 8 December will give WCC member churches and partners the opportunity to take action against the harmful—and growing—phenomenon of online gender-based violence.

Visiting Madagascar in partnership with the Catholic Spiritan brotherhood and the non-government organization Geneva for Human Rights last week, the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation explored how the resources shared better equip churches to help women suffering from obstetric fistula – condition which impacts millions of women around the world, particularly in sub-saharan Africa.

An international conference entitled “WE BELIEVE: The Status Quaestionis and the Neglected Topics of Nicaea and its Creed” was held in Istanbul on 1-2 December. WIth the theme “The Churches and Nicaea: An Anniversary for New Beginning,” the conference inaugurated a series of scholarly events on the occasion of the forthcoming 1700th anniversary since the convocation of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea.

On 29 November, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff held a farewell prayer for staff members who are retiring or moving on to serve elsewhere, including WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca; WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri; interim deputy general secretary and Faith and Order director Rev. Dr  Odair Pedroso Mateus; Rev. Dr Risto Jukko, director of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism; Diana Chabloz, assistant to the general secretary; and Marc Enzo Bellingoi, project assistant for the Assembly Office.

As a crowd of more than 300 gathered, the St Paul’s University School of Theology officially launched Thursdays in Black, pledging to build an Africa without violence and to join together on a pilgrimage of justice, peace, and reconciliation.

At a tray lunch organized by the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation on 28 November, leaders of global faith-based organizations, UN agencies, and researchers together explored the progress made in preventing gender-based violence, as well as the work ahead.

In a letter to Colombian president Gustavo Petro Urrego, and to the high commissioner for peace Danilo Rueda Rodriguéz, the World Council of Churches, World Communion of Reformed Churches, and ACT Alliance congratulated the government of Colombia for the appointment of four women to the negotiation team for a peace agreement with the National Liberation Army.

A webinar on 24 November, held in South Africa and online, addressed “Overcoming challenges to end violence against women and girls ecumenically.”

Two new Thursdays in Black Bible studies will draw women and men together in exploring scriptures in which the treatment of women resonates with today’s society.

As the global campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” kicks off on 25 November, the World Council of Churches (WCC), Lutheran World Federation, and other ecumenical partners are calling on us all to “UNITE! Act to End Violence Against Women and Girls.”