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Rev. Prof. Dr Rudolf von Sinner, professor of Systematic Theology, Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue as well as moderator of World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Education and Formation Commission, offered a public lecture on 13 April at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva as part of the WCC’s ongoing observance of its 70th anniversary this year.

Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), expressed concern and voiced solidarity for the people of Colombia as they confront a recent upsurge of violence.

As part of a Pilgrimage Reference Group meeting in Bogota, Colombia from 6-10 February, a WCC delegation visited the headquarters of the Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM).

More than 30 young adults coming from different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will gather in Colombia to reflect and plan actions on eco-justice and peace building. “Young people for Eco-Justice and Peace: The challenge that we accept” will be organized by the World Student Christian Federation in Latin America and the Caribbean (WSCF – LAC), a partner of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in Barranquilla, from 15-18 August.

The World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) hosted the Brazilian Semiarid Articulation (ASA) on 25 April for a dialogue on human rights and water justice in Brazil. Representatives of the EWN and the ASA discussed human rights within the framework of the right to water, and they also focused on alternatives for sustainable living offered by ASA.

Faith-based organizations and religious leaders must be included in efforts to address the challenges of human trafficking and forced migration, representatives of the United Nations, international organizations, Member States and civil society have said.

“We all sin against the Holy Spirit if we ignore climate change”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, during the opening day of the 24th Pentecostal World Conference, in São Paulo, Brazil, on 7 September. “We have to remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is the life-giver, active in creation from the very beginning till today. The Holy Spirit sustain us and all creatures every day”, he said.

“Peace is not just a ceasefire. Peace is not just the silencing of arms. Peace is education. Peace is figuring out how to coexist and how to build together.”

As many in the world observed and cheered the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, church leaders spoke out in support of the Olympic refugee team and the place of public honor it offered for refugees competing in the games.

“Bishop Pagura was one of the pillars of Latin American and world ecumenism in the last fifty years, a faithful and courageous champion of human rights and the cause of peace in Latin America and around the globe”, wrote Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), after the passing of Bishop Emeritus Federico José Pagura, on 6 June, in Argentina.

A global gathering in the German city of Halle has called on churches to be inspired by the tradition of the Reformation to become agents of transformation.

For public theology, “the essential and pressing task of the churches and theological education is to foster love, dialogue, forgiveness, reconciliation” says Prof. Dr Rudolf Von Sinner.

Representatives of more than 150 faith-based organizations gathered in Bogota, Colombia on 5 November to discuss their role in the peace process in that country. The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Interior and drew participation from the WCC.

High-profile church representatives, theological educators and social activists from around the world will meet from 19-23 November in São Leopoldo, Brazil, to reflect on how Reformation traditions in the world have contributed through education to transform societies.

“From the very beginning, women in the ecumenical movement have been raising the question of who is missing around the table and why,” said Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, speaking at the Latin American Congress on Gender and Religion.

In a letter issued from Bogota, Colombia, local and international Christian leaders have demanded a bilateral ceasefire between the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), urging that peace talks be resumed.

Strengthening their common indigenous identity and involvement in church life, young leaders from the Sami community of the Church of Sweden, a member church of the WCC, met recently with indigenous counterparts in Brazil.

Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church interacted with the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC on 22 June during their week-long meeting at the Caraiman Monastery in the southern Carpathian Mountains of Romania.

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, professor of ecumenical theology at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland and acting director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, has been confirmed as the new Faith and Order director.

The social and ecological cost of expanding mineral exploration and extraction was highlighted by churches at the World Social Forum.