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Ecumenical voices at World Youth Day in Madrid

For seven days last week the streets and squares of Madrid, Spain, were overrun by more than a million young people from all over the world. They gathered for the 26th World Youth Day (WYD), a youth-oriented event of the Roman Catholic Church.

WCC representatives at World Youth Day in Madrid

Consistent with its commitment to strengthen long-standing relations with the Roman Catholic Church and to foster youth involvement in the one ecumenical movement, the World Council of Churches is to participate in the World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, Spain, 16-21 August, in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI. The theme of the 2011 WYD is “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith” (Col 2:7).

Christian youth to be trained for eco-justice

Young Christians aged 18-30 years are invited to apply for a programme addressing the links between environmental and socio-economic justice which is jointly organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in the context of United Nations climate negotiations in the latter part of 2011.

Peace message closes convocation, but work has only begun

Participants at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) released a message on Tuesday expressing their unified experience of a week-long exploration of a just peace and to navigate a path forward as they return to their homes and churches across the world.

When pastors prey: book breaks silence

In an energetic book launch featuring Jamaican drummers and an Indian “Bollywood” dance lesson, the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) released a new publication seeking to break the silence on sexual abuse of women by clergy within the church.

“Rebirth” for Jamaica's young people

When 15-year-old Lydia* realized she was pregnant, she was forced by Jamaican law to leave her high school in Kingston. Left with no way to continue her education, she was struggling to find a way forward for herself and her baby.

IEPC youth essay contest: five winners

Five essays have been selected as the top entries in the Echos International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) essay contest. It is tied to the IEPC, sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), an event which is to be held in Kingston, Jamaica from 17 to 25 May 2011.

Youth and the ecumenical movement: “There is a delicate dance going on in our churches”

The Rev. Jennifer Leath is a member the World Council of Churches Joint Consultative Group with the Pentecostals and ECHOS, the WCC commission of youth. She is a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the USA and identifies herself as “a Black American who lives in solidarity with those in the African Diaspora and all those who experience oppression, these are they who capture my heart.” Leath was one of the speakers at the 2011 WCC Central Committee plenary on “Ecclesiological Landscape”, where she shared a strong testimony on the issue of youth and ecumenical movement.  She was interviewed by Marcelo Schneider.

We are called to be one in faith and action, reports WCC general secretary

“There is no theological reflection that does not take place in God’s vulnerable world and in the midst of the joy and suffering of ordinary people,” said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in his report to the first meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee that he has addressed as general secretary.

A young Mapuche speaks up for her people

Natividad Llanquileo is a young woman from the Mapuche people, an indigenous group that makes up some 4 percent of the Chilean population. In late November, she visited Geneva – seat of the United Nations Human Rights Council and other UN bodies – to inform the international organizations about the ongoing negotiations between the representatives of the Mapuche political prisoners and the Chilean government.

WCC and Pentecostals need each other, WCC general secretary says

“Among the many challenges that we face in the search for Christian unity is the need to overcome divisions and prejudices that exclude one another,” Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC said to the 22nd Pentecostal World Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

Two new scholarship endowments for Bossey

The endowment of two new scholarship funds geared towards facilitating studies at the Ecumenical Institute of the WCC was celebrated at the graduation ceremony for the 61st session of the institute's Graduate School of Ecumenical Studies on 3 February.

2010 focus on peace building in Africa

The role of the church in building just peace was highlighted last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where three World Council of Churches (WCC) advisory groups met to recognize the culmination of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) and the forthcoming International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) scheduled for May 2011.