The team for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation (IRDC) at the World Council of Churches (WCC) organized an online meeting on 9 March that explored possibilities for interreligious solidarity and cooperation in response to the needs of the wider world.
The chairs of the German Bishops’ Conference and the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany released on 22 June a statement on Germany’s Council presidency. On 1 July Germany will take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“God keeps God’s promises to us human beings,” the statement reads. “And God gives us the strength to contribute our part to a successful outcome.”
This interview with Fr Manuel Barrios Prieto, secretary general of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), is the first one in a series dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
As we approach the end of 2019, I am conscious that during this year we have celebrated many 30-year anniversaries. Europe in particular was witness to so much change in 1989.
The upcoming World Council of Churches (WCC) assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, was on the agenda of a recent meeting of the Conference of European Churches in Finland. Dr Marc Witzenbacher, the local WCC assembly coordinator, talked about the organizational process of the gathering, and also invited European churches to have significant participation in the assembly.
When I joined the World Council of Churches as an intern of the Public Information team in 2005, I often struggled to comprehend the “real” value of communicating themes related to ecumenism and peace.
An ecumenical delegation composed of representatives from the Conference of European Churches and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of the European Union met in Helsinki on 12 July with Pekka Haavisto, Finnish minister of Foreign Affairs, to exchange on the priorities of the Finnish Presidency of the EU Council.
The Europe region of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) elected a new Regional Executive Committee during its once-every-four-years assembly, held as part of as joint seminar organised with the Conference of European Churches (CEC) from 10-12 April in Helsinki and Stockholm.
From 14-16 December in the UK, the CEC and Cumberland Lodge held a conference titled "Towards Peaceful co-existence in the Middle East: challenges and opportunities." Co-hosted by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the gathering drew participants from a broad range of Middle Eastern and European churches.
Christmas Statement, signed by European church leaders – issued jointly by the Churches’ Commission for Migrants and the Conference of European Churches.
Church leaders in Europe stand together for an approach on refugees and migrants “based on dignity, respect, and where possible compassion”. This is the conclusion of a festive ceremony in which the leaders of the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) handed over on 4th December a European Church leaders Christmas statement to the European Parliament’s 1st Vice President Mairead McGuinness.
The WCC continues to receive messages of thanksgiving and encouragement from member churches, sister organizations and the wider ecumenical movement as the fellowship marks 70 years in working for Christian unity and action.
Greetings to the World Council of Churches from Ms Erin Green, communication coordinator for the Conference of European Churches (CEC), on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the WCC
Greetings of the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to the new president of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) Rev. Christian Krieger
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit congratulated the new president of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), Rev. Christian Krieger, who was elected 4 June at the CEC General Assembly in Novi Sad, Serbia.
As the Conference of European Churches (CEC) convened in Novi Sad, Serbia for its 15th general assembly, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit conveyed a greeting on behalf of the WCC.