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By rights, it should have been Africa. The World Council of Churches’ (WCC) First Assembly had been held in Europe (Amsterdam), the second in North America (Evanston, USA), the third in Asia (New Delhi). Hopes were raised that Africa would be the next continent to host the council. But questions arose concerning acts of violence and military conflicts in Africa throughout the 1960s, from the Biafran region in Nigeria to Zanzibar and Eritrea, from Algeria to Mozambique and Rhodesia. And so the Fourth Assembly returned to the “safety” of Europe, to Uppsala in Sweden. In one of history’s ironies, Soviet tanks would roll into Prague one month after the assembly’s close.

With over 3,500 participants from all over the world, opportunities for “encounter” are rich and continuous at the 11^th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) taking place in Karlsruhe, Germany. Intentional gatherings – from small “home” groups to regional meetings also help to connect participants and bring different perspectives to the concerns and hopes being raised under the Assembly theme, “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity”.

September 1 marks the beginning of the Season of Creation, five weeks in the liturgical calendar recognized by the fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and, since 2015, by the Catholic Church. It is an especially religious demonstration of concern for the planet and for threats to the survival of Earth as we know it.

Cuando los participantes en la Primera Asamblea del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) se reunieron en Ámsterdam en agosto de 1948, los Países Bajos atestiguaban la violencia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El puerto de Róterdam resurgía de la casi destrucción. Muchas otras ciudades, pueblos y aldeas de toda Europa estaban luchando por recuperarse. Al este, Alemania y Austria estaban divididas en zonas de ocupación dirigidas por las potencias aliadas. Dos meses antes, las tensiones entre la Unión Soviética y los ocupantes occidentales de la antigua capital alemana dieron lugar al inicio del puente aéreo de Berlín. Desde 1945, las publicaciones han ido incrementando el uso del término "Guerra Fría".

Als die Mitwirkenden an der ersten Vollversammlung des Ökumenischen Rats der Kirchen (ÖRK) im August 1948 in Amsterdam zusammenkamen, zeugten die Niederlande noch von der Gewalt des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Der nahezu vollständig zerstörte Rotterdamer Hafen erstand aus den Ruinen. Viele andere Städte, Gemeinden und Dörfer in ganz Europa mühten sich mit dem Wiederaufbau ab. Östlich von Amsterdam waren Deutschland und Österreich in von den alliierten Streitmächten verwaltete Besatzungszonen aufgeteilt worden. Zwei Monate zuvor hatten die Spannungen zwischen der Sowjetunion und den westlichen Besatzern der ehemaligen deutschen Hauptstadt die Berliner Luftbrücke eingeleitet. Seit 1945 verwendeten Publikationen zunehmend den Begriff „Kalter Krieg“.

En tant que participants à la première Assemblée du Conseil œcuménique des Églises, réuni à Amsterdam en août 1948, les Pays-Bas ont témoigné de la violence de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. Le port de Rotterdam se relevait après avoir été presque entièrement détruit. Beaucoup d’autres villes et villages en Europe étaient en peine pour se reconstruire. À l’est, l’Allemagne et l’Autriche étaient divisées en zones d’occupation administrées par les puissances alliées. Deux mois plus tôt, les tensions entre l’Union Soviétique et les occupants occidentaux de l’ex-capitale allemande avaient conduit au début du pont aérien de Berlin. Depuis 1945, le terme de «guerre froide» apparaissait de plus en plus souvent dans les publications.

As participants in the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) gathered at Amsterdam during August 1948, the Netherlands bore witness to the violence of the Second World War. The port of Rotterdam was rising from near destruction. Many other cities, towns and villages across Europe were struggling to recover. To the east, Germany and Austria were divided into zones of occupation administered by the Allied Powers. Two months earlier, tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western occupiers of the former German capital led to the start of the Berlin Airlift. Since 1945, publications had been increasing their use of the term “Cold War”.