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A conference held by the WCC and the Focolare movement founded by Chiara Lubich addressed the theme of “Peace and justice, fruits of unity” on the 10th anniversary of Lubich’s last visit to Geneva and the fifth year after her death.

The upcoming 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Busan, Republic of Korea, will present an opportunity for sustained ecumenical formation and theological education.

Christian theology regarding all people as created in God's image can help overcome the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This and other views on the impact of HIV in Africa, its gender dynamics and the role of people living with HIV, were shared by Prof. Musa W. Dube, a former consultant of the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) in a recent interview.

“It is impossible to speak exclusively for the unity of the church and be indifferent about the unity of humankind,” said Dr Petros Vassiliadis, at an academic gathering held in his honour in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Three major projects were launched at the recent All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) international symposium to encourage theological education initiatives throughout the African region.

Through engaging speakers and discussions, participants at a recent consultation on mission and evangelism explored ways, in which theological education and training programmes on evangelism can relate Christian witness to the changing landscape of Europe.

Some 22 representatives of the major Asian associations of theological schools came together recently in Indonesia to discuss challenges for training of ministers and lay people in Asian churches and to set goals for a new forum on theological education.

The first ecumenical affirmation of mission since 1982, invoking a new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst a changing world and ecclesial landscape, has been presented to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

A Global Theological Education Survey started by the Ecumenical Theological Education programme of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with other organizations is under way, and will result in the launch of a web based global directory of theological institutions.

To stress the relevance of theological scholarship programmes for the future of world Christianity, a conference was organized by the Ecumenical Theological Education programme of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and the Academy of Mission, University of Hamburg.

"The fellowship in the church should always be a sign of the empathy of God, with everyone who is suffering, groaning, longing for relief," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in his keynote presentation at the 27th Quadrennial Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI).

Theological faculties in the Republic of Korea are preparing for the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) which is to take place in the Korean city of Busan in late October and early November 2013. On 23 March 2012, a staff representative of the WCC gave an update on assembly planning to the annual congress of the Korean Association of Accredited Theological Schools (KAATS) meeting on the campus of Yonsei University in Seoul.

The pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism saw churches' renewed commitment and different approaches to mission and evangelism in a context of rapid change in society, politics and church.

Transformative spiritualities and mission is a significant point of discussion at the pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) which is currently under way in Manila. Transformative spiritualities are also one of the constituent themes of the CWME statement on mission and evangelism that will be presented to the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Korea in 2013. Dr Rico Palaca Ponce, academic director of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia based in Quezon City, the Philippines, gave an interview on the topic on 23 March.

Since 1982 there has been only one official statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on mission and evangelism. Now in 2012 the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) is preparing another statement to invoke new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst changing world and ecclesial scenarios.

A new video from the World Council of Churches (WCC) called The Changing Face of Mission explores the history of mission since the 1910 Edinburgh conference on mission, and how during the past century mission has changed.

While 2.2 billion of the world's population is children, churches both in South and North have often ignored children amidst God's ministries. Children's issues, their place in churches and children's rights in the world, all need a strong united Christian voice.

A common charter reflecting the essential elements of quality in theological education for schools of all denominational backgrounds was proposed recently by representatives of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI) at a meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

by Theodore Gill (*)

The HIV pandemic has been on the world stage for three decades now.  For most of that time the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its member churches have been deeply involved in making churches and theological institutions HIV-competent, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.