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Key stakeholders in a new inter-religious centre in Nigeria have met to plan for the centre and its work, set to launch in March 2016.

Reflections on the past, present and the future of Christian-Jewish relations were shared by Dr Clare Amos, the WCC programme executive for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, at a major conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews in Rome.

Dialogue with Judaism challenges Christians to think more deeply about their own identity and faith, according to panelists at a forum during the German Protestant Kirchentag, a church convention that brought almost 100,000 people to the city of Stuttgart.

To address confusions about the respective roles of intra-church and inter-religious dialogue, or dialogue among Christians as contrasted to dialogue among world faiths, a group engaged with the WCC is to prepare a short guide that will offer definitions for sometimes confusing terminology used in such dialogues, setting out different goals of the two forms of dialogue and offering practical suggestions and examples about the methodologies and issues.

In a shared recognition of the need to promote inter-religious dialogue in a world faced with conflicts often fuelled by religion, on 13 January the secretary general and officials from the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue visited the WCC offices and met with the general secretary of the WCC, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

The newly published issue of Current Dialogue is now available online. Along with key documents from the WCC 10th Assembly, the issue includes several strong pieces addressing some thorny issues in contemporary inter-religious encounter and dialogue, including the recent Malaysian prohibition of Christian use of the name Allah for God, the relationship of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, the particular difficulties in dialogue among the Abrahamic traditions, and the limits of dialogue itself.

Amid the ongoing offensive by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which recently caused the destruction of the Armenian church and genocide memorial in Deir Zor, Syria – an incident condemned by the WCC – staff members of the council reflect on what such incidents may mean for Christians and other faith communities in the region.

Prayerful biblical reflections marked the end of the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel in a service on 29 September at the Ecumenical Centre chapel in Geneva, Switzerland.

Gathering a diverse representation from migrant communities in Geneva, affirming expressions of solidarity and promoting social justice for “people on the move”, a public event marked Jeûne genevois (Geneva’s traditional Thursday observation of fasting and prayer). The annual civic holiday was celebrated on 11 September at the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Switzerland.

A group of Swiss churches and Christian agencies will mark Jeûne genevois (the annual Geneva day of fasting) on 11 September by holding a public event for local communities at the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Switzerland. The event will feature diverse expressions of solidarity and aspirations for social justice for migrants in the region.

Exploring realities of multi-religious societies and discovering new ways of working together as faith communities to promote justice and peace, young Christian leaders from Asia have gathered in Cambodia to take part in a two-week training programme called Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity (YATRA).

Addressing the urgency of witnessing to the gospel in current ecumenical and multi-religious situations, the WCC will develop materials to assist churches engaged in both ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious dialogue.

An international team representing the WCC and its longstanding dialogue partner the Center for Inter-religious Dialogue in Tehran held the seventh round of dialogue under the theme “Modernity and Spirituality”, leading to a stimulating exchange with their Shia Muslim counterparts.

Theologian S. Wesley Ariarajah elaborated on central assertions of his new book Your God, My God, Our God in a conversation facilitated by Dr Clare Amos, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, on 27 February in the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva.

Core religious issues of Jewish-Christian relations intertwine with current political realities, asserts Dr Clare Amos, programme coordinator for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation at the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Clare Amos, of the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff, is the recipient of a Lambeth Doctorate in Divinity, awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The title was recently conferred in recognition of Amos’ long-term contributions to ecumenical engagement, inter-religious relations and theological education.