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The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

In Tahiti, an ecumenical delegation was told about the need for re-inscription of French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the United Nations list of countries to be decolonized.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) calls on the churches and congregations around the world to observe an International Day of Prayer for Peace on 21 September. The day coincides with the International Day of Peace initiated by the United Nations.

In the city of Calvin where Reformed and Protestant roots run deep, migrant churches are bringing a new dimension to the theological and ecclesial landscape.

From Fiji to Rwanda, prayers and signs of commitment are being offered for the annual International Day of Prayer for Peace on 21 September. This year’s observances are taking place in parishes and on Facebook , led by people who attended a World Council of Churches peace convocation in Jamaica this May.

“The Pacific is a region that displays many warm and strong expressions of peace,’’ World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said in a speech to the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) 50th anniversary celebration held in Samoa this past week.

In a gala commemoration of a half-century of Christian witness, the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has returned to the Malua Theological College in Samoa where its first representatives assembled in 1961.

Government interference in church affairs in the Pacific nation of Fiji has been identified as a matter of profound concern by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Pacific Conference of Churches and a meeting of Pacific church leaders, Tveit has expressed his deep concern about the blatant violation of freedom of religion by the Fiji authorities in cancelling the annual conference of the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma , and in their detention of church leaders.  “It is absolutely unacceptable that the Fiji authorities intervene in internal church decisions and affairs,” Tveit said from Samoa where he is attending the regional meeting. According to news reports, the military government of Fiji cancelled the annual conference of the Methodist Church, saying the leadership was too political. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has said the leadership and senior members of the church were summoned by the military to hear the order, and the government unsuccessfully attempted to detain the former president of the church, Rev. Josateki Korio. This is the third year in a row that the government has cancelled the Methodist annual conference. Authorities have also suspended the national constitution, restricted media freedom and detained other opponents. The church remains critical of the regime. While in neighbouring Samoa, Tveit held meetings with the Rev. Vaiao Eteuati, general secretary of the Methodist Church of Samoa. Eteuati called on the global church to put pressure on the Fiji authorities against what he calls unjust actions towards the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma.  Tveit reaffirmed the stance of the WCC Central Committee who in 2009 proclaimed its support for the churches in Fiji. He also called Christians throughout the world to join in common prayer for the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma. The WCC Central Committee is a governing body representing the 349 member churches of the WCC. The WCC member churches include some 550 million Christians around the world.

The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, outside Geneva, Switzerland, is inaugurating its first summer school by hosting an internationally focused session on communication and religion.

 “We pray for Africa, especially for Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo where violence and suffering are a tragic reality,” was the prayer from Nairobi at an International Day of Prayer for Peace event sponsored by the All-Africa Conference of Churches.

By Mark Beach (*)

A team of church representatives will pay a solidarity visit to churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society movements in Tuvalu from 25-27 May 2010. The team will be travelling as " Living Letters " on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

By Mark Beach (*)

As a wave of ringing bells embraced the globe, churches sent a strong message to world leaders gathered at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen: There is only one world and in order to preserve it, bold action needs to be taken now.

The election of a new general secretary for the organization and the selection of the venue for its next assembly were highlights of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee meeting that ended yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland.