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In a joint greeting to the Lutheran World Federation Assembly, gathered in Krakow, Poland from 13-19 September, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Pillay and WCC moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm reflected on the assembly’s theme, “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope.”

The International Ecumenical Fellowship (IEF) held its 45th Conference in Krakow, Poland, 22-29 July under the theme “Love of Christ Compels Us.” The gathering drew nearly 200 participants from Europe, including the Ukraine, as well as from Colombia

The Executive Committee of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church, which met in Warsaw, Poland, from 6-8 May, released a communique.

The life of Rev. Dr Rena Joyce Weller Karefa-Smart is being remembered and commended this week by the WCC fellowship after her passing last week. Karefa-Smart was the first Pan African woman to graduate in 1945 from Yale Divinity School. She was a champion for global ecumenism over the course of a long and distinguished career. An attendee of the first WCC Assembly, she was also a procession leader and author of the liturgies at the second WCC Assembly in Evanston, Illinois (USA).

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.

United Nations leaders and the WCC have agreed that the international community and faith leaders need to cooperate more on working to fight the scourge of the deadly Ebola virus.

At the 19th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Warsaw, Poland, representatives of faith communities called for a just climate deal to be adopted by the UN in 2015. Many observers viewing the event from ethical and spiritual perspectives commented that COP19 concluded without fulfilling expectations of the victims of climate change.

Youth delegates to climate-change talks from churches of the Lutheran World Federation have initiated a call to fast with the poor and vulnerable who are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events. The call was joined immediately by other faith-based organizations present at the UN climate negotiations.