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Women and children figure prominently as refugees in mass movements of people in recent months and their rights will be at the forefront of a summer school organized in Greece by the Conference of European Churches.

A global gathering in the German city of Halle has called on churches to be inspired by the tradition of the Reformation to become agents of transformation.

Last Sunday, the “Twin Consultation” on “Reformation – Education – Transformation” wrapped up at the Francke Foundations in Halle, Germany. Held six months after the first consultation in São Leopoldo, Brazil, the five-day session in Halle became a vibrant meeting point and a juncture between different religious contexts from the global North and South.

Some 3,000 people answered a call by Berlin’s Protestant church to march for “openness and tolerance” as a response to a demonstration in the German capital by extreme rightwing groups.

At the Wider Outlook Works Festival, as people observed the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the WCC general secretary spoke about repentance and a change to a better direction.

The heads of two German Protestant churches and the moderator of the country’s Reformed Alliance say the situation for refugees on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is intolerable and more European aid is needed.

European representatives of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation are calling for a renewed vision of Europe based on a culture of peace, not military might.

During a solidarity visit to Burundi 1-4 March, the World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches sent a “Peace Message” urging all parties in Burundi to promote national unity, healing and reconciliation.

When Fernando Enns thinks of water in a German context, he is reminded of thousands and thousands of refugees who have come to the country fleeing the conflict in Syria.

A German alliance of diverse faith-based and civil-society groups has encouraged humanitarian response to refugees in Europe.

Participants in a recent conference on the refugee crisis in Europe, hosted by the WCC, said they felt energized by the reports from a multitude of activities undertaken by churches from Lebanon to Finland through Serbia, Greece and Germany.

In an age of religious pluralism and of religious justification of all manner of atrocities, how do religious communities contribute authentically to the public good?

Churches in Europe have a crucial role to play in responding to the arrival of refugees in Europe, Germany's interior minister has told a gathering in Geneva of governments, United Nations agencies, church and faith groups and civil society organizations.

Renowned for his friendly attitude and his inspiring speeches, nothing seems impossible for this man. He has faced a multitude of difficulties including severe illness and persecution. At age 62, he committed to rebuild the church in the only officially declared atheist state.

In a statement issued on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day on 10 December, the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs expresses deep concern over the many challenges that still remain in securing human dignity and rights for all.

Reflections from the International Conference on Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula in Arnoldshain, Germany

Citing doubts about a mandate for military deployment and the prospects for success, the Evangelical Church in Germany voiced its opposition to the deployment of federal armed forces against the terrorist militia group that identifies itself as Islamic State.

Mere days after terror attacks in Beirut and Paris, the theme of an interfaith meeting of Christians and Muslims at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on “Religion, Peace and Violence” was entirely appropriate, said participants.