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In an encyclical letter intended to be read in congregations of the Church of Constantinople around the world on Sunday 22 May, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I welcomes “with great joy” the initiative of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in convening the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in Kingston, Jamaica from 17 through 25 May 2011.

The power and political will being used in Libya to protect the safety and interests of the Libyan people “must be directed away from the use of armed force” and “channelled into negotiations to end the bloodshed” now consuming Libya, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) said in a statement on 4 May.

The Chernobyl disaster of 25 years ago remains a human and environmental tragedy so severe the consequences will continue for centuries. Its anniversary this week is especially timely given the current emergency in Japan which echoes some of Chernobyl’s hard lessons. To learn them would honour those who suffer from the past and could save lives in the future.

Five essays have been selected as the top entries in the Echos International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) essay contest. It is tied to the IEPC, sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), an event which is to be held in Kingston, Jamaica from 17 to 25 May 2011.

Jamaica – a proud and independent Caribbean nation struggling with a high level of violence and criminality – is the location of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) facilitated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 17 to 25 May 2011.

“There is no theological reflection that does not take place in God’s vulnerable world and in the midst of the joy and suffering of ordinary people,” said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in his report to the first meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee that he has addressed as general secretary.

Graduate study in peacemaking will be available for academic credit at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC), held 17-23 May in Kingston, Jamaica and sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC). A course for seminarians and other graduate students will be offered on “Overcoming Violence: An Engagement with the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation”.

The World Council of Churches is hosting an international exhibition of textiles, arpilleras and quilts from 16 February to 18 March at its Geneva headquarters. An arpillera is an appliqué collage from Latin America that depicts facets of the artist’s land and culture.

At the 50th meeting since its foundation in 1946, the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) decided to refocus, establishing four thematic working groups, in order better to respond to the needs of the member churches.

Churches' attitudes and responses to racism today will come under scrutiny at a conference, organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the United Church of Christ (UCC) and Dutch missionary and diaconal agency Kerk in Actie , in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 26-29 August.

Young Christians from around the world are invited to apply to the World Council of Churches (WCC) stewards programme for one of two hands-on learning experiences at major ecumenical meetings in 2011, the WCC Central Committee meeting, 8-24 February, and the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, 12-26 May. Applicants must be between the age of 18-30 years.

By Jane Stranz (*)

"Our commitment to peace as churches and as Christians is something we have inherited at birth, or, indeed, from the birth of the baby of Bethlehem," said Bishop Dr Martin Schindehütte of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) at a day preparing for the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation.

“Telling the Truth About Ourselves and Our World” , a study guide on overcoming violence in contemporary contexts, has been published by the World Council of Churches in English, French, German and Spanish as part of the build-up to the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in May 2011 at Kingston, Jamaica.