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On 7 March, participants of the “Living Together” meeting in Bagdad representing various religious and ethnic groups of the country met with the president of Iraq His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif Jamal Rashid, presenting their concerns and challenges for religious and ethnic diversity in Iraq.

From 23-25 March, 1,600 young people from 43 countries came together in Beirut, Lebanon with the brothers of the ecumenical, monastic community of Taizé (France). Middle Eastern and Western Christians discovered how fruitful and stimulating an ecumenical exchange can be.

At a time of increased divisions within churches and within rapidly changing societies, Christians are called, more urgently than ever before, to model the values of reconciliation, justice and peace. That’s why a group of theologians and church leaders from different denominations have been meeting near the German city of Augsburg to work together on two documents calling for much closer collaboration in the tasks of peace-building and the care of migrants and refugees.

As a retired person in his late 60s, Frederick “Fred” Rainger often asks himself: ”what can I stop doing?” His days are filled with engagements in community activities and it hasn’t gotten any less busy since he became more involved in the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (PIEN), a network of Australian Christians seeking lasting peace for the people of Palestine and Israel.

The brutal attacks on two churches in Alexandria and Tanta on Palm Sunday with more than 40 victims are not the first attacks on Christians in Egypt. In January, the so-called Islamic State declared threat on Coptic Christians and killed eight. In December 2016, a blast at the Cathedral in Cairo killed 30 people.

During the visit to Iraq on 20-24 January, a delegation of church leaders shared the findings and recommendations of a recent study exploring the specific needs of displaced people in Iraq and Syria. The delegation also learned a lot about the current situation and challenges from representatives of local faith communities in Iraq, heads of the country’s Christian churches and Christian young people.

A global delegation of church leaders concluded a visit to Iraq on 24 January, focusing on the future of vulnerable components of Iraq’s society following the expected military defeat of the so-called “Islamic State”. The delegation called for an emergency response from international donors to support efforts to secure, stabilize and rebuild affected communities and societies.

The ecumenical dialogue between churches has a long and fruitful history. But since war and terrorism are threatening the existence of churches in the Middle East, Christians of this region feel more and more neglected by their Western partners.

The removal of the group calling itself Islamic State will not alone secure the return of displaced minority communities or their longer-term wellbeing in Iraq or Syria, a new report by The World Council of Churches (WCC) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) released today in Oslo has found.

Madeline, 14, and sister Sabrine, 16, are both paralyzed in their legs. “They were paralyzed by shock. Something happened to their nervous system”, says father Mohammad. The family was caught in the crossfire in Daraa, in southern Syria. Son Louay, 3, was killed by a bomb. That’s when they decided to flee. Bombs were constantly falling during their flight.

Was bedeutet das bevorstehende 500. Jubiläum der Reformation außerhalb Europas? Im Nahen Osten wird die Reformation als bedeutendes Vermächtnis angesehen, steht aber auch für die ungewisse Zukunft einer kleinen und zersplitterten Minderheit. Die Kirchen der Reformation haben nach wie vor einen hohen Stellenwert innerhalb der Konstellation christlicher Gruppierungen, sagen nicht-evangelische christliche Gläubige, die diese Kirchen zu einer Führungsrolle bei der Aufnahme ökumenischer Kontakte zu charismatischen und pfingstlichen Bewegungen auffordern.

What does the impending 500th anniversary mean outside its European birthplace? In the Middle East, Reformation stands for a strong legacy yet also the uncertain future of a tiny and splintered minority. The churches of the Reformation remain important within the constellation of Christian groups, say non-evangelical Christians, who call upon them to lead in ecumenical outreach to newer charismatic and Pentecostal groups.

A crane began lowering 12-meter concrete slabs into place in the Cremisan Valley, near Bethlehem in occupied Palestine on 6 April, marking the final phase of construction of an extension to the Israeli separation barrier. The World Council of Churches, through its Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), has been alongside the affected Palestinian community in the valley, both Christian and Muslim, throughout their legal struggle to stop the construction.

“We are not speaking of people leaving one less-than-affluent suburb to go to a more affluent one because they seek a better quality of life; these are people leaving war-torn, poverty-stricken and conflict-filled near-anarchic states to find protection and safety for themselves and for their families.”

Blogger and political analyst Hany Fawzy from the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt – a member church of the WCC, reflects on the killing of 21 Christians by the “Islamic State” in Libya.

Lebanese government Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil was welcomed to the WCC offices on 3 March in Geneva, Switzerland. Bassil met with the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and WCC staff members.

The WCC will hold an international consultation exploring links between migration, human trafficking and modern slavery. The focus of the gathering concerns thousands of migrants faced with violence, abuse and exploitation during their perilous journeys as well as in the countries to which they migrate.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reaffirmed churches’ commitment to justice and peace in the Middle East, while stressing the importance of a common vision for living together by Christians and Muslims in the Arab world.

Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land need to go beyond a mere homage to ancient sites and instead show concern for the Palestinian people living there, whose lives are severely constricted by the Israeli occupation of their land.Â

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