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From despair to hope, Christian engagement with HIV has challenged stigma and discrimination - and also entailed genuine transformation in the church themselves.

It is difficult to overstate the challenge posed by the advent of AIDS in the 1980s—to the world at large and also to the churches.

Alongside the medical challenge, an enormous pastoral task quickly arose: to minister to those living with HIV or dying from AIDS-related causes, but also to their families and others affected by the epidemic. But perhaps as wrenching, AIDS revealed a level or layer of intolerance and judgment and an underlying moral theology that could barely see the patient for the sinner. All the more remarkable, then, that churches around the world, led by the World Council of Churches, were able to respond with passion and compassion and to recognize, confront, and surmount the deep religious and cultural prejudices against those living with HIV through successive programmatic initiatives.

Beginning in the early 1980s and based on extensive interviews and primary sources, as well as key decisions, statements and texts, this is the story of the ecumenical movement’s determined, persistent and transformative wrestling with HIV and with the deep pain and tough questions posed by it to the religious community. The book offers a rich narrative of the persons and programmes involved, the lessons learned, and perspectives on how this experience can further equip faith communities to face HIV and future challenges to health and healing.  With timeline and biography

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.

Focused on pivotal leaders and key challenges over six decades of women’s participation in the WCC, this brief volume traces the evolving struggles and critical accomplishments of women toward realizing gender justice and “the community of women and men” in the ecumenical movement and beyond.

When the richest 85 individuals in the world own as much as the poorest 3 billion people, one must ask about equity and social justice.

A life founded in God is fulfilling, claims Jürgen Moltmann, while modern life without God has become diminished. For all its virtues and conveniences, it has left us frantic, isolated, and alone.

By contrast, Moltmann turns to the promise of life trusting in the living God. His starting point is the biblical experience of the unconditional nearness, attentive love, and the inexhaustible vitality of God. God is neither immovable nor impassible nor remote from people but intimately involved with and present to each of us.

What it means to live in the presence of God’s love and the life of God is the subject of Part Two. The freedom and friendship of God’s love awaken all our senses and give us courage to think and act, Moltmann maintains. In this way, human life may be deeply experienced, fully embraced body and soul, and joyfully lived. 

Jürgen Moltmann has written a wise yet very personal book. A truly fresh vision and a kind of theological encouragement, it brings together, in an alternative way of life, our everyday experiences and profound insights into the limitations and possibilities of human existence.

Perhaps more than ever, in our globalized context we meet persons of other faiths and religious traditions. When empathetic, such meetings can be revealing about their lives and commitments. Yet how do they change our own identity and illuminate our own faith?

In light of interreligious encounter, who do we say that we are?

This brief work, distilled from lengthy and broad theological consultation facilitated by the World Council of Churches, suggests ways in which our faith is deepened and exciting new vistas opened on traditional Christian faith commitments through interreligious dialogue and engagement.

Our sincere engagements with the other can lead to a growing grasp of our own faith identity and, indeed, more profound encounter with the mystery of God.

Bringing together people living with, working with, researching, or personally affected by HIV or AIDS, this volume developed by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) and its global partners draws directly from on-the-ground experiences elicited from frontline actors in the churches and agencies. Their insights and reflections are always lively, sometimes uncomfortable, and often deeply moving.

A first-person account—

“We owe a great deal to Baldwin Sjollema’s dedication and unswerving opposition to injustice. His life story recalls the heroisms and tragedies that accompanied that work of solidarity and social change. I invite readers to hear his story and to share his deep commitment never to bow to racism.”

—Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Keith Clements Bonhoeffer’s story—and its import for today “ No one has a better grasp of Bonhoeffer’s legacy and knowledge of the ecumenical movement than Keith Clements. This is a publishing milestone for those interested in both.” —John W. de Gruchy, University of Cape Town

Legacy and Future

A Jubilee Volume—
The approaching 500th anniversary of the beginning of the European Reformation occasions this feast of historical, theological and even pastoral insights.

Through insightful introductions and judicious editing of 60 selections, Christopher Dorn’s Peace in Christian Thought and Life captures the great sweep and wide divergences in the two-millennium argument of Christians among themselves over peace, war, violence, and the imperatives of the gospel.

The debate about justice and equity in global economic arrangements has preoccupied ecumenical Christianity for a century. It has been given new impetus and urgency by the global financial crisis, by widening disparities of income and wealth, and by a looming climate crisis fuelled by ever expanding consumer-driven economies.

An excellent tool for Christians everywhere to think freshly about Christian mission, "Together towards Life" presents the new ecumenical mission affirmation, the first in a generation, in full, along with a complete guide and a host of other study materials.

The plight of more than 5000 Palestinian prisoners— the conditions of their arrest, detention, and care— continues to draw international attention and condemnation. This brief resource volume provides
a responsible, factual overview of their situation and prospects, supplemented by the specific stories of individual prisoners and their families.

For those who struggle with the meaning of faith and Christian discipleship in their personal, familial, and political lives, Wolfgang Huber's brief volume offers deep assurance and steep challenge.

The voices of the churches in the international arena—
Ranging across the globe, this vital compendium of documents covers an astonishing array of engagement by Christian churches through the World Council of Churches and its Commission of the Churches in International Affairs: war and peace, regional and national conflicts, disarmament and nuclear weapons, violence against women, economic justice, climate justice, freedom of religion, religious intolerance, ethnic and indigenous people’s struggles—the list goes on.

The voices of the churches in the international arena—
Ranging across the globe, this vital compendium of documents covers an astonishing array of engagement by Christian churches through the World Council of Churches and its Commission of the Churches in International Affairs: war and peace, regional and national conflicts, disarmament and nuclear weapons, violence against women, economic justice, climate justice, freedom of religion, religious intolerance, ethnic and indigenous people’s struggles—the list goes on.

Faith and Order Papers 218

The common study of the sources of authority shows that the church cannot exist without, beyond, or above authority. The church sustains the authority of God. And here comes the clash with the secular world.

Living and witnessing to their faith in the first centuries after the New Testament, the men and women of the early church—theologians and bishops, ascetics and martyrs—have exerted a profound influence and authority in the subsequent theological and ecclesial periods and traditions.

Stories of desperation and hope. Assuming the voices of African women, Jessie Fubara-Manual introduces us to the concrete realities of their lives in vivid description, insightful analysis, and abiding hope. Through her, we come to know their joys and pains and the systemic evils that they daily battle.