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Rediscovering the testimonies of Christian faith men and women of different Christian traditions gave over the centuries was the goal that brought some eighty participants from a variety of traditions and countries to the Italian monastery of Bose this autumn.

The myth according to which host countries are "victims" of migration needs to be challenged, as in fact their economies benefit from the exploitation of the migrants' work.

The Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) has began to pursue two study processes on how churches can make their own the outcomes of ecumenical dialogues - the so called "reception process" - and on the "spiritual roots of ecumenism".

Religious freedom and interreligious dialogue will be on the agenda of an international ecumenical delegation visiting Pakistan from 24 November to 1 December. The group will discuss how churches can help ease political and religions tensions with representatives from churches, the Muslim community and government officials.

"It is impossible to preach God's love in Jesus Christ while being silent about the effects of such a grave humanitarian catastrophe," a group of church leaders told D.R. Congo President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa yesterday.

"Please remind the world that we are no longer at war," a high-ranking government official from Sierra Leone told an international ecumenical team visiting churches and ecumenical organizations in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 2 to 8 November.

A delegation of church leaders from Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has set out to meet the presidents of the latter two countries in order to convey them a strong message in favor of peace.

To achieve reconciliation takes nothing less than the transformation of society, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia said in Managua, during a 2-5 November visit to Nicaragua.

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

In a recent consultation in the Philippines, indigenous theologians and representatives from various continents have vowed to strengthen their solidarity in continuing a dialogue with each other and with the World Council of Churches (WCC) in envisioning a more inclusive church and society.

Leaders of Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority expressed divergent views on resolving the ethnic conflict in their country, while speaking to a delegation led by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

The plight of people displaced by war will be the main topic of a " Living Letters " visit to Uganda, 27 October to 2 November. An international ecumenical delegation sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) will discuss with representatives of churches, state and civil society about the protection of refugees, with a specific focus on sexual violence and the vulnerability of children.

Jointly issued by the WCC and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches

By Anto Akkara (*)

"Living together in community must take the centre stage of Christian-Muslim dialogue," said Catholicos Aram I at the opening of an 18-20 October ecumenical consultation aimed at developing a common Christian theological understanding of dialogue with Islam.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), together with a number of Christian world communions, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Roman Catholic Church are expecting some 50 church leaders and experts on Christian-Muslim dialogue to attend a consultation from 18 to 20 October in Chavannes-de-Bogis, outside Geneva, Switzerland.

Patriarchs, primates and representatives of Eastern Orthodox churches recommitted themselves to overcome intra-Orthodox conflicts as well as to continue theological dialogues with Christians from other confessions at a 10-12 October meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.

India and Sri Lanka, two South Asian countries that have seen alarming levels of violence in recent months and years, will receive a 16-23 October the visit of a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation headed by general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia.

The rapidly changing relationship between religion and state and the challenge of multiple identities were the foci of a lively dialogue between ten Chinese and nine European scholars and religious leaders representing Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and traditional Chinese religions held in Sweden, 3-6 October.

In the context of rapid social and political changes in Eastern and Central Europe, some 37 leading representatives of theological and ecumenical institutions throughout the region gathered in Romania recently to seek more mutual cooperation and ecumenical commitment to ecumenical theological education.