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By Fofo Lerefolo (*)

By Fofo Lerefolo (*)

By John Gibaut (*)

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

“We hope to learn from the lessons of history,” Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Nigeria told activists gathering for the sixth annual United Nations Advocacy Week (27 September to 1 October) organized by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC). For the first time, UN Advocacy Week is being held in Geneva rather than New York City, in conjunction with the 15 th session of the UN Human Rights Council in the Swiss city.

Local leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are being encouraged to explore the nature of ecumenical engagement with a study guide on “Presbyterian Commitment to Ecumenism” by Y. Dianna Wright.

On the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United Kingdom, three stalwarts of Scottish ecumenism and the “churches together” movement met on Tuesday evening to assess church relations today. The three church leaders were Archbishop Mario Conti (Roman Catholic archbishop of Glasgow), Christine Davis (Religious Society of Friends / Quakers) and the Rev. Dr Sheilagh Kesting (ecumenical officer of the Church of Scotland and former moderator of its General Assembly). They shared reflections about the successes, disappointments and hopes of churches working together in the nation.

A high distinction has been bestowed on the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit. On Thursday 2 September, the Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre was presented to Tveit by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.

“Among the many challenges that we face in the search for Christian unity is the need to overcome divisions and prejudices that exclude one another,” Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC said to the 22nd Pentecostal World Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

The theme of the 30th International Congress of Old Catholics, "You shall go out in joy", is a call to prepare for a "new beginning, filled with God’s purpose and renewed by grace" WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit wrote in his greetings to the event.

by Juan Michel (*)

Next year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be grounded in the experience of the churches in Jerusalem . Resources in five languages have already been made available on the website of the World Council of Churches ( WCC).

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has welcomed the appointment of Bishop Kurt Koch as new president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

"The formation of the World Communion of Reformed Churches is a source of inspiration for all of us who see the call to unity, to mission and to promote justice as one, undivided call", said World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in Grand Rapids, United States, on Saturday, 19 June.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism has launched a process aimed at an overhaul of the ecumenical understanding of Christian mission.

On 18 June, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) will merge with the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). The new ecumenical body will group 227 member churches representing 80 million Christians in 108 countries.

by Theodore Gill (*)

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) has played a significant role in helping bishops educated in a dated “theology of exclusion” to move towards a genuine “ecumenical commitment”. This was one of the remarks made by a leading Vatican figure at a press conference held at an international conference on world Christianity.Â