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As the World Council of Churches (WCC) Climate Working Group meets this month, the advisory body is looking forward to offering the fruits of its work for reflection and, most important, action at the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. Below, Rev. Henrik Grape, senior advisor on Care for Creation, Sustainability, and Climate Justice, reflects on climate justice work in the lead-up to the assembly and beyond.

Churches in Africa and disabled persons organizations are condemning the use of disabled children as beggars and slaves, amid media reports of cross-border smuggling of the children between Kenya and Tanzania.

Today the world joins in mourning the passing of a towering figure in the struggle for freedom and for human dignity and rights.

When the World Council of Churches (WCC) launched the Programme to Combat Racism after years of in-depth theological reflections and prayer in 1971, South Africa's insidious racist apartheid policies were in full throw. The programme brought the WCC into the world's spotlight. Yet racism did not start 50 years ago. And it did not end with the casting out of apartheid at the end of the 20th century. During that era, figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela fought racism in society and the church.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) online missiological conference will celebrate the centenary of the International Missionary Council on 16-18 November. The conference will include public webinars, in addition to regional sessions of the International Missionary Council study process.

A webinar on 18 October remembered past massacres in the Pacific, honoring the legacy and resilience of the victims. Speakers reflected on past massacres in Samoa, the Marshall Islands, and Kanaky, all of which took place during colonial times or during occupation.

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) 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.”

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 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.

In a recent meeting, the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism discussed how COVID-19 has reshaped mission and the church.

The All Africa Conference of Churches has welcomed the coming into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, stating on 26 January that the treaty “addresses the disproportionate impact of nuclear weapons on women and indigenous peoples.”

A book by Ken Ross, Mission Rediscovered: Transforming Disciples, will be released during a webinar on 2 December 2020. A commentary on the Arusha Call to Discipleship, the publication unpacks the meaning of the 12-part summons of the Arusha Call. With an up-to-date theological and missiological view on the Arusha Call, the book also offers a personal reflection on the state of a world desperately in need of change and transformation.

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World. She also serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She recently participated in a rally and march in Washington, DC, where thousands gathered to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream" speech.

The rescue ship Sea-Watch 4, purchased by a crowdfund led by the Evangelical Church in Germany, is ready to start operating in the Mediterranean Sea to help migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa.