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Eighteen theological educators and church representatives gathered on 22 June in Geneva for the second meeting of the Network of Institutions of Higher Ecumenical Theological Education (NIHETE). The inaugural meeting took place in Halle, Germany, in May 2016. NIHETE is an open platform of exchange on contents, methodologies and contexts of teaching ecumenism in the era of world Christianity.

Relations between Catholics and Protestants at the local level in East Indonesia are not as complex as talking about dogma at higher church levels, says a pastor from the Protestant Church in Maluku.

Over 30 representatives of several theological institutions connected to the World Council of Churches programme of Ecumenical Theological Education (WCC-ETE) are gathered at the Faculty of Theology of the Methodist University of São Paulo, from 14-18 May, for the first Meeting on Ecumenical Theological Education of Latin America and the Caribbean in Global Dialogue.

Rev. Prof. Dr Rudolf von Sinner, professor of Systematic Theology, Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue as well as moderator of World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Education and Formation Commission, offered a public lecture on 13 April at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva as part of the WCC’s ongoing observance of its 70th anniversary this year.

Discipleship takes place when we intentionally, sacrificially, and consistently live every moment of our daily lives in commitment to following Jesus, said Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Ranjit Canagasabey at the missional formation plenary of the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) on March 12.

Gathering in Makumira near Arusha, Tanzania on 5 March, more than 100 theology students from around the world celebrated the opening of the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2018, organized by the WCC.

Through a ceremony on 26 January, the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey saw 21 students from 20 countries and 10 denominations embark on a future of ecumenical work in their respective home countries and contexts.

“Ecumenism without youth is ecumenism without a future”, said Prof. Dr Esther Mombo at the opening of the annual meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation (CEEF), being held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 9-13 October.

Rt Rev. Dr Samuel Amirtham, an internationally renowned theologian, bishop and ecumenical leader, passed away on 26 September at the age of 85. Amirtham was a multifaceted and charismatic teacher, pastor, leader, and revolutionary, inspiring and accompanying many lives, from remote villages to universities, to the corridors of power.

“Put your preconceived ideas about young people aside. Listen to them and hear what they are saying to you!” Michal Szymanczak of the World YMCA presented findings of a YMCA study, “One Million Voices” to participants at a seminar, "Sharing the faith in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world,” held at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Bossey Ecumenical Institute.

The World Council of Churches' (WCC) popular YATRA (Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity) programme has a new online learning component that adds four weeks of intensive training to two weeks of residential learning. When 35 young men and women from 14 different countries meet at the Jakarta Theological Seminary in Indonesia on 8 July, they will already have a familiarity with the major religious traditions found in Asia, thanks to their online studies.

As the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2017 (GETI’17) drew to a close in Berlin on 31 May, participants rejoiced in a sense of renewed ecumenical energy, and of fellowship across traditions, as they prepare to return to their home contexts.

During Kirchentag, a Protestant church festival in Germany, vice-moderator of the WCC Commission of Ecumenical Education and Formation Prof. Dr Esther Mombo visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) booth, where she talked with Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director of Communication.

“We’ve seen in the case of refugees, how the church takes a strong standpoint in welcoming those who have fled. But it isn’t always so easy in the congregations. There are many who feel fear, as we receive not only refugees but sometimes also people of other faiths. In this case, we can see a gap between what the church says, and what is actually lived.”

An upcoming Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) in Berlin, Germany, has participants like Shahriar Ashrafkhorasani, from the Church of England, looking forward to an experience that will go beyond informative into transforming.

Greta Nania-Montoya Ortega has an enthusiastic message for young people considering signing up for the 2018 Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI): “Do not miss this unique opportunity. It will change your life!”

When the Bossey Ecumenical Institute marked 70 years of formation, hundreds of current and former students, professors and friends gathered at the Château du Bossey to celebrate. Rev. Khaing Moh Moh was one of that band, but perhaps she travelled the furthest, from Myanmar, where she serves the Shan State Lisu Baptist Association about 200 kilometres north of Mandalay, the country’s second biggest city.

Thirty-five international students from the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, are embarking on a future of ecumenism, dialogue and unity that began with months of intense study and fellowship.

The descendants of the last family to live at Chateau de Bossey before it was acquired by the WCC are elated it is now a centre that brings people from different Christian traditions and other faiths together to understand one another better.

More than one hundred representatives of churches, theological institutions, ecumenical organizations and specialized ministries from ten countries gathered in Matanzas, Cuba, on 1-4 October, at the Evangelical Theological Seminary (SET) to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the institution and reflect on theological teaching and its sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean.