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After a 4,000 km detour, ecumenical delegation to reach South Ossetia

A pastoral delegation sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to Georgia and Russia has not been able to visit South Ossetia from the Georgian side of the ceasefire line. Unable to make the half-hour drive to Tskhinvali from within Georgia, they are now traveling thousands of kilometers to reach the enclave from the Russian side instead.

Orissa: WCC and LWF ask for end of violence, solidarity

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have jointly called on the Prime Minister of India requesting his intervention to end the violence in the state of Orissa. The WCC invites its member churches to join a call from Christians in India to hold a Day of Prayer and Fasting for peace and goodwill on Sunday, 7 September.

Hurricanes prompt US churches to pray, work and speak out

As hundreds of thousands of people from the US Gulf Coast have evacuated their homes, fleeing from Hurricane Gustav as they did from Katrina three years ago, US churches keep praying and providing relief. They also denounce underlying social and economic conditions that make for the vulnerability of the region.

WCC delegation visits Georgia and Russia

A pastoral delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) will visit Russia and Georgia from 3 to 7 September. The delegation will listen to WCC member churches in both countries, encourage their efforts for peace and visit people displaced by the recent violence as well as church aid programmes.

An international ecumenical debate on the issue of "promised land"

One challenge for churches addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the fact that it takes place in a land that different religions consider holy. A conference in Bern will discuss the concept of the "Promised Land" and related theological issues with a view to help more churches become advocates for a just peace.

Ceremonies, books and broadcasts mark the WCC 60th anniversary

"Stating that in seeking Christ they found each other, the 147 churches that sixty years ago came together in Amsterdam, Netherlands committed themselves afresh to Christ and covenanted with one another in constituting the World Council of Churches (WCC)," said the Council's general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia as he prepared to leave for a commemorative event to be held at the location where the WCC was officially founded sixty years ago, 23 August 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

"A Common Word" letter sparks a series of dialogues among Christians and Muslims

A recent dialogue held in late July at Yale University in the United States brought together Muslim and Christian scholars, intellectuals, academics and religious leaders from the United States and around the world. The event was one of a series of dialogues organized in response to the October 2007 open letter "A Common Word" sent by 138 Muslim scholars to Christians around the world. The letter invited them to dialogue about what they viewed as the common parts of their respective faiths.

Global campaign to promote "HIV-competent" churches

Representatives of ecumenical organizations meeting in advance of the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City vowed to launch a global campaign to help churches become competent in dealing with the HIV and AIDS pandemic.