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In a lecture at the Institute for Ecumenical Studies at St Thomas Aquinas Pontifical University (Angelicum) on 13 December, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered a lecture entitled "Ut Unum Sint: Between Winter and Spring, Reality and Prophecy, 1995 – 2020.”

At an ecumenical conference on 10 December in Stuttgart, Germany, commemorating 50 years of combatting racism, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered reflections on mission and on combatting racism. He also met with Bishop Frank Otfried July from the Evangelische Landeskirche in Wuerttemberg.

Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber, from the Evangelical Church in Germany, is also a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee. WCC Communication spoke to her about preparations for the WCC 11th Assembly, to be held in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Thirty years ago, on 9 November 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, the Nicolaikirche in Leipzig had gained a reputation as a gathering point for events signalling the end of an era of communist rule in what was then East Germany.

The movie Eldorado, in which filmmaker Markus Imhoof examines the European migrant crisis and contrasts it against his boyhood experience with a post-World War II Italian refugee, has received recognition from the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and SIGNIS, a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication.

The film was awarded because it highlights universal values.

The Sant'Egidio community began a “Peace with no borders” conference in Madrid on 15 September, gathering religious leaders from all over the world to address each other on migration, the environment, dialogue and inclusion.

Citing an “appalling record” of failure to rescue refugees at sea, the Evangelical Church in Germany, along with other faith-based and civil society groups, are calling for better solutions.

The Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in Lyon, France for its annual plenary session from 2-5 September. The group released a communique focusing on migration and peace building, outlining areas for theological reflection and cooperation.

As the Waldensian Methodist Synod met in Torre Pelisse in the north of Italy, the assembled delegates received a letter from Pope Francis, who expressed warm greetings.

“I pray for each of you that you may experience the Holy Spirit in these days of encounter, prayer and reflection,” wrote Pope Francis. “Please allow me to join in your prayer that the Lord would deepen the ecumenical spirit among Christians and lead our churches into a growing communion with each other.”

The 10th World Assembly of Religions for Peace is convening in Lindau, Germany, this week. The multi-religious gathering is being organized from 20-23 August in partnership with the Foundation Peace Dialogue of the World Religions and Civil Society.

Virag Kinga Mezei is a Hungarian intern for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. With a passion for human rights, she regularly engages in discussions while also getting training through the WCC on mechanisms that lead to the achievement of racial and social justice.

As the Worship Assembly Planning Committee had its first meeting in Baden, Germany from 5-11 July, prayer was at the forefront for becoming the heartbeat of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th assembly in Karlsruhe in September 2021.

The Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz hosted an international conference on “The Many Faces of Jesus Christ: Contextual Christology in a New World Come of Age.” Meeting from July 4-6 on the university campus, the conference brought together 20 scholars from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America to listen to and debate new developments in Christology from around the world. Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal and Reformed theologians made presentations on Christology, as reflected in theological writings, poetry, art, music and murals, and lived experience.

Conversations at the World Council of Churches (WCC) exhibition booth at the Kirchentag showed there is a growing interest in ecumenical movement among German churches. The topics of a particularly high interest were the Thursdays in Black campaign and studies at the Ecumenical institute in Bossey.

Stories, music, and many other expressions of solidarity marked a lively observation of Thursdays in Black at the German Protestant church festival. From religious leaders to passersby, many offered words of support and encouragement for the campaign for a world free from rape and violence.

On 20 June at Kirchentag, the thriving Protestant church festival in Germany, #ThursdaysInBlack, the global campaign for a world without rape and violence, will take the stage during a noon presentation.

A special event in London was held to remember the 50 years that have passed since the World Council of Churches Programme to Combat Racism began in May 1969.

The Protestant Church in Germany and Palermo (Italy) Mayor Leoluca Orlando have issued a joint declaration calling for a European distribution mechanism for boat refugees.

Currently there is no Europe-wide distribution mechanism to accommodate refugees rescued in the Mediterranean in the European Union. The declaration calls for a political emergency solution this summer, and urges a group of European Union member states to act as a “coalition of the willing” and develop a sustainable migration policy.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) was featured in the DW Global Media Forum held 27-28 May in Bonn, Germany. More than 2,000 media professionals, policymakers, and movers from politics and civil society, culture and education, business and science – representing 140 countries – attended the conference.

“Open a European humanitarian corridor,” urged Italian Protestant churches and the Community of Sant’Egidio in a letter to Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte.