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The Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) of 2022 was an intercultural, short-term, academic study and exposure programme. It was a six-week blended learning experience - four weeks online and two weeks in residence alongside the 11th WCC Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 28 August to 8 September 2022. The programme was designed to explore the theme, “Christ’s Love (Re)moves Borders”. 

The tapestry that ensues in this volume brings together the keynote contributions of plenary speakers with the interventions and perspectives of GETI 2022 students in an intergenerational and interdisciplinary theological discussion grounded in scripture and in Christ’s love.

UNAIDS and PEPFAR developed this compendium in 2023. WCC collaborated on translating the Executive Summary into French and Portuguese.

This vital report brings together essential lessons from faith communities’ exceptional leadership in addressing the challenge of HIV in children. It documents evidence from the core roles that faith communities have played in identifying undiagnosed children living with HIV, improving the continuity of treatment, and supporting adherence to care and treatment. It also documents lessons from how faith leaders have driven advocacy to tackle stigma and discrimination and push for targets to be achieved. It will help faith communities and those who support and partner with them to advance a step change in progress towards the goal of ending AIDS in children by 2030.

The author shares the untold stories of several pan-African women of faith from Africa, North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe who provided local, national, and global ecumenical leadership during formative periods of the modern-day ecumenical movement.

In addition to the author’s personal experiences with these women, the publication offers an important rewriting of the ecumenical narrative from a pan-African Women’s lens. It is hoped that the publication will strengthen the ecumenical agenda of a more inclusive community that embraces the objectives of the pilgrimage of justice and peace as it embraces the experience of these women who have historically been marginalized and affected by racism and gender discrimination.

In Recommended Practices to Combat HIV-Related Stigma, the World Council of Churches presents experiences of local congregations responding to HIV stigma. HIV stigma remains a significant barrier to universal access to care and prevention services and continues to be a challenge for the world, demanding our engagement and action. The faith community, with its large networks, influence and leadership, is well-placed to end HIV stigma and discrimination. It is our responsibility to participate in the HIV response; it is our calling to care for the most vulnerable.

The HIV epidemic continues to present a challenge for today’s world. The engagement and action of faith communities, in coordination with other actors, are crucial if we want to realize the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. How can the faith communities have sound and relevant responses to the current challenges of HIV? In Faith Sector Implementation of the Global AIDS Strategy, the authors summarize three global strategies on HIV and provide examples of interventions and actions for faith communities.

This booklet highlights the lessons learnt in a project, Strategic Engagement of Civil Society Networks and Faith Actors in the HIV Response in Four Countries,  implemented by the World Council of Churches (WCC), with the support of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), from July to December 2022 

This initiative facilitated dialogue between civil society networks, faith actors, and key national HIV stakeholders in the Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, and Jamaica.

The spiritual life during GETI 2022 embodies the WCC ethos of holding spirituality and critical reflection together as parts of an integrated whole. In that regard, this Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) is envisioned as a holistic process encompassing formative and informative dimensions of learning. This prayer booklet contributes to holistic learning. It is a resource for spiritual life, a formative dimension of the GETI 2022 experience and learning. It illuminates the theme “Christ’s Love (Re)Moves Borders” liturgically. This, therefore, serves as a resource for (spi)ritual and prayerful reflection for all during the residential phase of the study process that was also anticipated during the online phase.

 

This collection of songs will be used during morning and evening prayers at the Ecumenical Youth Gathering to be held on 27-30 August before the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, which aims to bring together around 400 young people from various churches and ecumenical partners to discuss a common message. The event is designed to provide an opportunity for young people to participate in intergenerational dialogue and develop a more inclusive agenda for the movement.

The theme for the fourth International Youth Day commemoration and toolkit, Indigenous Peoples and Land Rights Activism, arose out of several recommendations from young people within and outside WCC networks as one of the pressing issues that young people would like to explore.

This toolkit provides background information, resources and guidelines for advocacy by young people.

The WCC programmes on Youth Engagement in the Ecumenical Movement and the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples (IP) Network, through its IP Youth network, have collaborated on this year’s focus.

GETI 2022 at the 11th WCC Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, is the third instalment in the succession of WCC Global Ecumenical Theological Institutes (GETIs) under the auspices of the Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) programme.

Christ’s Love (Re)moves Borders: An Ecumenical Reader as the study guide for GETI2022 brings together scripture, theology, and social science into a single compilation to facilitate intercultural academic study, ecumenical learning and sharing. Derived from the WCC 11th Assembly theme, “Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity”, the GETI2022 theme locates love and reconciliation at the heart of the gospel.

GETI brings together young and emerging ecumenical theologians and educators from a broad spectrum of Christian traditions and all eight regions of the WCC to engage with one another on current critical theological themes. The GETI2022 Reader is a key resource compilation to enable participants to: • Strengthen knowledge of current local and global ecumenical themes. • Engage with past, present and future issues in ecumenical discourse. • Utilize interdisciplinary approaches for ecumenical studies. • Express a theologically informed and contextually grounded ecumenical theology. • Seek constructive solutions for challenges in changing religious and societal landscapes.

“Because God Loves Me—Affirming My Value in Christ,” a new curriculum written in French that is designed to help children ages 7-12 address gender-based violence.

Though the curriculum, edited by Yvette A. Kelem and Blandine E. Ackla, was developed for use primarily with churches and church groups in Africa, it is relevant and accessible for other French-speaking populations as well.

The Christian education programme encourages the full involvement of children, adolescents and youth in becoming early proponents of nonviolence. Developed for children's Bible study leaders, teachers, parish volunteers, and others who work with children, the curriculum serves as a guide to help churches live into their responsibility to protect all children, girls and women from gender-based violence.

This series of manuals emerged out of the realization that exclusive claims of faith healing in the context of HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are compromising adherence to antiretroviral therapy. It recognizes that religious leaders are strategically placed to promote adherence (following through on the use of medication as suggested by a treating doctor) to antiretroviral therapy and to challenge stigma and discrimination.

The manual consists of practical, user-friendly units designed for use with faith communities, theological institutions, and theological education by extension. It is a living document and is adaptable to different contexts.

Continuing its mission of providing practical pastoral resources to counter HIV and AIDS, WCC’s Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Advocacy and Initiatives (WCC EHAIA) has published a half dozen manuals for addressing key concerns of those most affected by the disease. Context-driven and language-specific, the six pieces yet tackle topics pertinent to the whole of Africa and beyond and can be employed to structure workshops and to inform resource persons themselves. 

Up to 80 percent of Africans are estimated to be traumatized as a result of violence, poverty, disease, natural disasters, and other causes. As a continent where the majority of the population are young people, Africa’s adolescent population is particularly affected. Along with common causes of trauma, youth also experience many other struggles related to growing up. But this trauma often goes unaddressed, not only because sexual and gender-based violence become normalized, but also because of the lack of specific services and awareness. 

This book addresses this lack. It is an important gift to enhance the role of churches to provide wholeness.

For those who wish to hear, these novel voices of emerging theologians offer authentic clues to translating the received traditions of Christianity in ways that might also transform the world.

Current Dialogue is the World Council of Churches’ journal on interreligious dialogue, offering a platform for debate to those who want to build bridges across religious divides and to their partners of different faiths.

A stellar collection of nearly 30 of the most important, orienting documents of contemporary ecumenical and missiological reflection. Composed and compiled to serve as a textbook for the meeting of the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute, held in Arusha, Tanzania, in conjunction with the world conference of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism in March 2018, the volume nurtures ecumenical theological formation with a contextual sensitivity yet a truly global focus.

International Review of Mission is the leading journal on missiology with contributions from all over the world and from various Christian backgrounds. Founded in 1912, it is published by the World Council of Churches, and focuses on the ecumenical theology and practice of mission.

Often perceived as conservative and rigid, the churches have sometimes been barriers to people’s claiming their sexuality. Yet, in their response to the crisis posed by AIDS and HIV, Christian churches have also often challenged harmful cultural practices and surmounted that stereotype. Focusing on sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), especially in African settings, this volume seeks to identify and cultivate the positive, indeed liberating, role that the churches must play.

A short history of the premier institute for ecumenical studies, fully updated for Bossey’s 70th anniversary. Updated Edition.

Lodged in an 18th-century château overlooking Lac Léman and the Alps, the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland, is the premier site for ecumenical encounter and study.

Begun even before the inauguration of the World Council of Churches, during 70 years Bossey has drawn thousands of women and men from all over the world and every Christian confession and culture for seminars, conferences, and, since 1952, for its graduate school of ecumenical studies.  Its communal life and learning have changed the lives of many people and made it a true laboratory for new forms of ecumenical life.

This brief yet lively history of Bossey, penned by Hans-Ruedi Weber and updated by Robert K. Welsh, delves into the roots and evolution of Bossey and its programmes,  its place in the whole ecumenical movement,  and the people who have invested creative energy into its growth and flourishing.  The Story of Bossey reveals not only a life-changing venue for Christian encounter but a lens on the rapidly changing landscape of the larger church, the ecumenical movement, and indeed the world.