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Grief and anger in Canada and across the world have followed the news that the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School in the western Canadian province of British Columbia.

In recent times, churches face tensions with regard to ethical questions. This is of course not new. History testifies to how in the history of Christianity disputes over moral questions caused changes, leading at times to division, whereas at other times such divisions could be prevented.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order is initiating a new webinar series to discuss responses to its second convergence document “The Church: Towards a Common Vision,” published in 2013.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Council for World Mission, from 14-17 June, will present online the ecumenical event “Anti-racist in Christ? Ecumenical Christian Repentance, Reflection and Action on Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia.”

A collection of documents and publications from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is now available through its longstanding partner organization Globethics.net. The WCC collection, updated weekly, reflects a growing and longstanding electronic bridge between the organizations’ websites.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Communication has published new internal guidelines to ensure inclusive and accessible communication. In the recent past, WCC communication has been stepping up efforts to have a more inclusive and accessible communication. One example is that the development of the new WCC website took into consideration accessibility needs of persons with disabilities. Another example: the WCC has been testing sign language interpreta-tion in webinars. In 2021, the communication team explored even more ways to ensure our communication work is inclusive and maintains high accessibility as we prepare for the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe—and beyond. All this necessitated the need to have guidelines for inclusive and accessible communication.    

The latest issue of the World Council of Churches’ journal International Review of Mission deals with one of the most urgent issues in the world today – reconciliation.

Under the title, “Reconciliation as a Missional Task,” the issue explores the meaning of reconciliation, how it can be understood theologically, and what its missiological dimensions mean for the church’s missional task.

A World Council of Churches Pilgrim Team will be visiting indigenous communities on Standing Rock, particularly along the shore of the Missouri River (Lake Oahe), with portions of visits open to the public online on 25-28 May.

Churches Together in England will be marking the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd on 25 May with a special #CandleOfJustice.

Churches will be uniting at noon that day to light a candle, pray and commit to taking personal and institutional action to tackle racism in society and in churches.

 

A webinar scheduled for 27 May and entitled “Change in Moral Teaching – Exploring Continuity and Discontinuity,” will examine concrete historic examples where churches have modified or changed their understanding of a specific moral issue.

Archbishop Rev. Dr Soritua Albert Ernest Nababan, a global ecumenical leader, passed away on 8 May in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the age of 88. He was the World Council of Churches (WCC) president from 2006-2013 and served as the former Ephorus (Archbishop) of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, the largest Protestant church in Indonesia and the largest Lutheran church in Asia with a membership of 4 million people.

“Persons with disabilities as well as other persons in the community see the church as a pillar of support to their complete wellbeing,” said Anderson Gitonga, executive director of United Disabled Persons of Kenya at a virtual dialogue, held 5 May, on promoting mental wellness of persons with disabilities in Kenya during and beyond COVID-19. “There is need for the church to explore further ways to build communities of support within communities to promote mental wellness of persons with disabilities during COVID-19.”

A webinar on how churches make moral decisions—and what causes divisions—brought a lively discussion attended online by more than 100 people on 29 April.

Basing their remarks on a World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission publication, “Churches and Moral Discernment. Volume 1: Learning from Traditions,” the speakers shared insights from very different church perspectives.

During a webinar organized through the New International Financial and Economic Architecture initiative (NIFEA), they spoke on the collusion of capitalism, colonialism, and Christianity, and shared how indigenous communities are well-suited to lead the ecumenical movement in seeking alternatives to the world’s death-dealing systems.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) webinar, “Moral discernment – What can we learn from other traditions?” will take place on 29 April, based on the Faith and Order Commission publication “Churches and Moral Discernment. Volume 1: Learning from Traditions.”

Eighteen participants representing 16 World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches and ecumenical mission partners from 14 countries engaged in a missional formation workshop on 15-16 April in collaboration with the WCC Bossey Ecumenical Institute.

The workshop, designed to facilitate the contribution of young leadership, was coordinated by the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism under the theme “Young Leadership in Mission.”

In a video interview, Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary of the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, gives an update of the new EU Migration Pact, and the importance of input from faith-based organizations working to change unbearable conditions for thousands of migrants and refugees.

In preserving and restoring unity, churches are increasingly confronted with moral questions. The World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission has studied this topic and recently presented a new study document called “Churches and Moral Discernment: Facilitating Dialogue to Build Koinonia.” In a series of three webinars, the commission will introduce the document and two other publications that assist in learning from and with each other about discerning ethical questions in the churches.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism will hold an online “Missional Formation Workshop: Young Leadership in Mission” on 15-16 April, in collaboration with the WCC Bossey Ecumenical Institute.