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The holy places of Haiti were not spared by the devastating January 12th earthquake. Throughout the capital city, Port-au-Prince, many churches are rebuilding out of the rumble.

In an effort to express solidarity and learn of the churches’ work in providing support and relief to victims of the Haiti earthquake, the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), is visiting Haiti accompanied by an ecumenical delegation of six church leaders from different parts of the world.

An ecumenical delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, will visit Haiti from 14-16 June. The purpose of the visit is to express solidarity with the victims of the 12 January earthquake, offer pastoral accompaniment and reflect on the current challenges the churches are facing as they try to serve the Haitian people.

by Theodore Gill (*)

A Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity, released at the Edinburgh 2010 conference, provides "a world-class resource for all of us who feel a need for continuing ecumenical formation", says the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

An ecumenical delegation including Fr Rex Reyes (general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and a president of the Christian Conference of Asia) and Marie Hilao-Enriquez (chairperson of the human rights group Karapatan) presented the human rights situation in the Philippines at a lunch discussion with staff at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, 7 June 2010.

by Jonathan Frerichs*

Christian mission is about sharing both the gospel and material goods, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has said preaching in Edinburgh on Sunday, 6 June.

Deep concern over the recent death of Floribert Chebeya Bahizire and the "increased oppression against Congolese human rights defenders" during the past year was expressed by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a letter to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 4 June.

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) has played a significant role in helping bishops educated in a dated “theology of exclusion” to move towards a genuine “ecumenical commitment”. This was one of the remarks made by a leading Vatican figure at a press conference held at an international conference on world Christianity.Â

By Jane Stranz (*)

The need to keep together evangelism and the quest for social justice was highlighted by a representative of an ecumenical mission body speaking at an international church conference in Edinburgh on 3 June.

The Rev. Dr Young-Hoon Lee, senior pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church has reaffirmed his church's commitment to support the World Council of Churches (WCC) 10th Assembly, which will take place in Busan, Korea, in 2013.

"To launch together a new beginning for common mission in the 21st century" is the challenge put before participants at an international mission conference taking place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, from 2-6 June.

Deep concern over the precarious situation people on the Korean peninsula are facing was expressed by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a letter to WCC member churches in South Korea.

The plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and the need to hold the Israeli State accountable under international law were highlighted at a roundtable hosted by the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum in Geneva, Switzerland on 31 May. The roundtable was one of the events marking the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel.

Initiators of a World Week for Peace have urged Christians to pray and act for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. The call is "timely", they said, as peace activists have reportedly been killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip this morning.

Although it is often portrayed as a religious conflict, the crisis in Nigeria's Central Plateau State is of social and economic nature, the country's foreign minister told church representatives. The church delegation advocated for government action to develop the area and to bring to trial those responsible for an outburst of communal violence last March.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has welcomed a recent Turkish government decree allowing for a better protection of the rights of non-Muslim religious minorities in Turkey.

With great sadness the World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit received the news of the death of Dr David Stevens, leader of the Corrymeela Community.