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On 22 June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Forum on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology concluded with a strong call for action to evolve “transformative congregations” with moral courage to build an “economy of life” that focuses on er adicating poverty, challenging wealth accumulation and safeguarding ecological integrity.

21.06.12

“Institutionalized greed with structural consequences demands counter measures at the structural level, if we are to overcome pressing problems of poverty, socio-economic disparities and ecological destruction,” said Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, former general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

More than one hundred international participants, including representatives of churches and civil society, have gathered in Bogor, Indonesia for the Global Forum on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology. On 19 June, they spoke together about poverty eradication and the concepts of economic and ecological justice lying at the heart of Christian ethics.

Emerging geo-political trends in Asia and their impact on international relations and the shaping of a new world order were analyzed and discussed at the 51st meeting of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

“Diakonia is an alternative form of power which consists precisely in serving. If we transfer this insight into the social and political realm, the question is then to what extent structures of power can be permeated by the spirit of service,” said Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will, for the first time since its 1948 inauguration, be holding its first meeting in Shanghai and Nanjing in the People’s Republic of China, focusing on the unique situation of Chinese churches and ecumenical relations in the region.

Religious insights can offer immense resources for peacemaking, Professor Johan Galtung, a pioneer in the discipline of peace studies, has said in a lecture at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) congratulates the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople for receiving the Freedom of Worship Award of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute which acknowledges his efforts in promoting religious freedom, dialogue and environmental concerns.

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.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was honoured with the “Friend of the Armenians” award by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) in the United States, as an acknowledgement of his efforts to support Armenian churches throughout the world.

By Marcelo Schneider (*)

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.