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The study paper has been produced by the commission’s Working Group on Transforming Discipleship, which has been engaged since 2019 in a study process on the document “Arusha call to discipleship" in affirmation of the key place that discipleship holds across all levels of ecumenical work or denominational church work.

The paper "Converting Discipleship: Dissidence and Metanoia” aspires to move churches towards a transformation effected through discipleship. Addressing churches and communities locally, the document aims to inspire them to re-examine and finally re-shape their missional commitment.

The fifth reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2020 is by Dinesh Suna, coordinator of Ecumenical Water Network, World Council of Churches. He is a Lutheran and comes from India. In the following reflection, he explores the importance of “hand-washing” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while this basic facility is not available to millions of people, particularly to children. He dedicates this reflection to World Water Day which is being observed on 22 March with the theme “Water and Climate Change.”

Following Jesus requires consistency between the proclamation of our faith, liturgy and prayer, and the practice of justice that we develop, since the peace of God is a fruit of that justice. This gospel passage allows us to ask ourselves whether we are followers of Jesus.

The first Reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is by Renemsongla Ozukum, a theologian and a member of the Baptist Church Council, Nagaland India. She has been engaging with grassroots women in North East India for more than a decade. Married to Pangernungba Kechu, she is enjoying learning child theology from her two adorable sons Lenir and Akumdong Kechu. In this reflection she recalls her childhood in North East India as to how she related to water. She further  goes on to dissect the “gendered waters” where girls and women are subjected to exploitation, losing productivity and discriminated against.

On 23 August 2018, a great ecumenical event took place in Amsterdam, the city where the World Council of Churches was founded 70 years ago. Many international ecumenical guests came to celebrate the birthday of that “privileged instrument” of the ecumenical movement. A symposium was held in the university, a great service was celebrated in the Nieuwe Kerk in the city center, and guests were welcomed by the mayor of Amsterdam and local church representatives. And many Amsterdamers came to join the festivities. Everything was livestreamed and broadcast.

The seventh reflection of the of the "Seven Weeks for Water", of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network, is by Raquel de Fátima Colet, a consecrated Catholic member of the Company of the Daughters of Charity of the Province of Curitiba/Paraná/Brasil. She is a member of the Ecumenical Movement of Curitiba (MOVEC).  In the following reflection she relates the beatitudes in the context of respecting and protecting our waters. She says, “The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) present us with a path to follow Jesus, in the commitment to his Kingdom of love, justice and peace. From Latin America, from its exuberant nature and the lives of our peoples, today we want to proclaim the beatitudes of caring, translated into our prophetic participation in the promotion of a fair and equal access to water a universal gift and right”.

The migration of Ruth to Bethlehem can be understood as a kind of pilgrimage because she chose to immigrate as a form of solidarity with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Her journey of migration changes Ruth’s beliefs, values, and path of life. The text speaks about two stories of immigration—the first one is caused by scarcity of basic provisions, and the second one is propelled by solidarity. We can see similarities between pilgrimage and immigration. There are shared elements of journey, importance, unpredictability, encounters, conversion, solidarity, openness, closeness, and divine providence. The story of Ruth and Naomi provides a biblical understanding of pilgrimage of justice and peace in relation to immigration.

This is first of seven reflections for the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network’s (EWN) Lenten campaign, "Seven Weeks for Water" in 2017. Rev. Dr Benebo Fubara Fubara-Manuel is an ordained minister, theologian and ecumenist of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. Fubara-Manuel currently serves as Rector of Essien Ukpabio Presbyterian Theological College, Itu, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and is President of the Christian Council of Nigeria.  He is a member of the Covenanting for Justice Network of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). In his reflection, Fubara-Manuel elaborates on the Bible’s Exodus story of the pilgrimage of the Israelites in the wilderness of Shur. It tells of their days of travel without water and, finally, when they found water, it was bitter! Fubara-Manuel relates it to today’s global water crisis.

In line with the WCC-UNICEF partnership and the commitment to support children through churches, a guide for consultations with children and adolescents is now available.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." 

(Matthew 5:6a)

The justice and righteousness of the fourth beatitude are presented by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew as a necessity. This justice is the way to happiness promised by the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Only those who hunger and thirst for divine justice will be satisfied and filled with happiness. However, for centuries, a major question arises over the meaning of this justice: what is the justice that Matthew presents? Why, contrary to the evangelist Luke who presents a physical hunger and thirst (Luke 6:21), does Matthew emphasize the need to suffer hunger and thirst for righteousness? What kind of justice does the first Gospel present?

The 6^th biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Susan Smith, a Professor of Law and Director of the Certificate Program in Sustainability at the Willamette University, USA. She teaches environment law, including water law and is a water activist. She represents the United Church of Christ at the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC. In this reflection she highlights that the kingdom of God/ paradise can be witnessed here on this earth, if we make water available for all for their basic sustenance with dignity, contrary to the model where water is “harnessed as fuel for the engine of economic growth to serve the twin gods of economic efficiency and profit”.

Water is a big issue and a question of justice. For some communities there is no water to irrigate land, or clean water to wash and drink. For other communities there may be plenty of water but it comes in unwelcome destructive episodes whether deluge from the sky, floods from rivers or the rising tide of the sea. 

This paper offers reflections on mission as ministry of reconciliation from an ecumenical point of view and is shared by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches as a document for reflection and study in preparation for the world mission conference in Athens in May 2005.

We request our churches in Korea, Japan and Germany to work locally for the remembrance of history and the transmission of insights gained thereby to the next generation.

We therefore request our congregations to work for a situation where the wrongdoing, which in some cases has only just come to light, is not repressed, and call upon them to seek solutions in cooperation with the responsible politicians and citizens' action groups.

The present document has been prepared by a multicultural and interdenominational group of missiologists, medical doctors and health professionals. It builds upon the tradition of the WCC's Christian Medical Commission (CMC) and its most fruitful contribution to an understanding of the healing ministry of the church. This document does not repeat what remains well formulated in earlier texts of the World Council of Churches, such as the document "Healing and Wholeness. The churches' Role in Health", adopted in 1990 by the Central Committee.

This paper offers reflections on mission as reconciliation from an ecumenical point of view and is shared as part of the preparatory process for the 2005 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). It is the result of a consultation attended by ten missiologists coming from five continents, rooted in their own contextual spiritualities and coming from various church traditions such as Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic. They worked hard to reach and express some common convictions. The statement was received as a study document by the CWME Conference Planning Committee (CPC) during its meeting near Athens in March 2004. The CPC decided to share it widely, in order to receive reactions, comments, critiques, suggestions for modification and improvement. The paper will then be presented, possibly in a revised version, to the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism meeting later in autumn this year.

This text (Faith and Order Paper No. 182) explores the complex but often creative field of hermeneutics - the interpretation of texts, symbols, and rites - and its role in the search for visible church unity. It invites us to reflect on how we approach and evaluate one another's language and symbols, as a contribution to mutual understanding among Christians and churches.

The study guide My Neighbour's Faith and Mine: Theological discoveries through interfaith dialogue, was published by the WCC in 1986. Since then it has been translated into numerous languages and used widely.