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At an International Peace Consultation on 20 June, the National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine issued on open letter to the WCC and the ecumenical movement, stating, “There is still no justice in our land.” In today’s Palestine, discrimination and inequality, military occupation and systematic oppression are the rule, the letter states: “Today, we stand in front of an impasse and we have reached a deadlock. Despite all the promises, endless summits, UN resolutions, religious and lay leader’s callings – Palestinians are still yearning for their freedom and independence, and seeking justice and equality.”

The diocese of West Ankole Church of Uganda consecrated its fourth bishop, Rev. Johnson Twinomujuni who replaced the Rev. Yonah Katonene on 28 May. Katonene has served as a member of World Council of Churches Central Committee since 2013, and retired from being the diocesan bishop last October.

Rev. Dr John Gachango Gatu, the first Kenyan to serve as secretary general of the Presbyterian Church in East Africa and a former moderator of the General Assembly of that denomination, died in Nairobi at the age of 92 on 11 May 2017.

As the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gathered for its 12th Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia from 10-16 May, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit presented greetings on behalf of the World Council of Churches, a worldwide fellowship of 348 member churches which represents more than half a billion Christians around the world.

Almost 800 participants, including 324 delegates, are gathering in Windhoek from 10-16 May for the Twelfth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the highest LWF decision-making body that meets every six years. World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit will address the plenary on 12 May.

More than five decades after the relationship between the WCC and the South Africa-based Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NHKA) was broken, the first approach towards the church resuming its WCC membership was taken with an informal meeting between the NHKA leadership and the WCC staff member in charge of membership matters.

Greta Nania-Montoya Ortega has an enthusiastic message for young people considering signing up for the 2018 Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI): “Do not miss this unique opportunity. It will change your life!”

The WCC this week installed at its headquarters in Geneva a tapestry of traditional Palestinian embroidery donated to the WCC.

“The pilgrimage of justice and peace is a commitment to being together on the way as churches and ecumenical partners at all levels from the local to the global, a way of accompaniment, listening to each other and solidarity”, said Rev. Dr Martin Robra, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for Ecumenical Continuing Formation and professor at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey.

With the aim of monitoring how the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace is unfolding and to develop suggestions for its various initiatives and activities, with a special focus on the Africa region in 2017, the World Council of Churches (WCC) convened a meeting of the reference group of the pilgrimage in Nigeria from 20-27 February.

A consultation of churches in the Democratic Republic of Congo was held this week with a focus on the DRC’s political instability. Hosted by Catholic Relief Services in Addis Ababa, the consultation was the second of its kind.

Dr Samuel Kabue, an ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, has been the person behind the solid work of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network over the past years. On 6 October, he was interviewed by WCC communications, in Geneva, and talked about his memoirs, “From the Village to the World”, the importance of inclusiveness and the loud prophetic voice of the minorities in church and society.

Including persons with disabilities and the aged in humanitarian practices was the theme for the 4th annual International Humanitarian Partnership Conference in Nairobi on 21-22 September. More than 140 humanitarian practitioners, academicians and advocates met for the conference, organized by the Inter Agency Working Group on Disaster Preparedness for East and Central Africa (IAWG). The theme was “Disability and Age Inclusion in Humanitarian Practice: Scaling up inclusive practices toward the achievement of Agenda 2030.”

The WCC is committed to a just peace in Palestine and Israel with a view that this conflict is about justice with deep moral dimensions that must be given proper weight by all if we are to reach a lasting solution. Religion can both contribute to the increase of the level of conflict, or help establish peace. Read the interview with the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) held its 11th General Assembly this week, bringing leaders from regional churches together to pursue a unified ecclesiastical voice in the midst of human suffering that is permeating the region.

Hope in a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace formed the integral thread for proceedings at the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Trondheim, Norway this week. The 2016 meeting took place 22-28 June, the second gathering since the Central Committee was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), at its meeting in Trondheim, Norway, 27 June 2016, has elected a new executive committee with 11 new members.

A plenary discussion on support by religious communities for the rights of children, and a first draft of the statement of “principles for child-friendly churches,” captured the imagination of the Central Committee of the WCC on 27 June. The document will now undergo further revision and be resubmitted at the next WCC executive committee meeting.

Youth are not the future leaders of tomorrow. They are the leaders of today, as they fearlessly lead efforts for justice and peace in their societies.

Encouragement, inspiration and storytelling animated the plenary discussion of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.