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The December 2012 issue of The Ecumenical Review , guest-edited by Deenabandhu Manchala, features reflections from marginalized communities on the theme of the upcoming World Council of Churches (WCC) 10th Assembly.

By Jonathan Frerichs (*)

"Churches cannot challenge injustice if they cannot recognize its entrenched presence within the church itself,"€ reads a document by a working group of the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme on Just and Inclusive Communities.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a “dehumanizing practice”, said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). He said that churches need to work together with other religious partners and governments to eliminate this practice.

More than thirty participants from different Latin American countries will be meeting in Antigua, Guatemala for a regional consultation reflecting on peace and human security in Latin America.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting individuals and congregations to join “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence” through reflections, prayers and action towards overcoming violence against women.

Concerns about Asian countries doing less to protect the rights of migrant workers and the reality that most countries have not ratified United Nations and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on the rights of migrant workers were high on the agenda of a recent ecumenical workshop on migrant workers held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Orthodox churches have reaffirmed their commitment to "unity, justice and peace" saying that the "supreme act of God`s love is the economy of salvation". This and other theological reflections were shared in an inter-Orthodox consultation in Kos, Greece this week.

South Africa, Australia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Pakistan, Syria and Myanmar have provided the subjects for statements and minutes of concern voiced by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of public issues actions during a recent meeting of that governing body at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari, Greece.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) “ is defined by all the three key words in our name. We are global, in all continents, and therefore also in solidarity with one another, seeking peace in all its meaning for the whole earth,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in honouring the victims of road accidents. “Every single human being is precious in the eyes of God as they are created in the very image of God,” said Tveit.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has invited applications for workshops, exhibitions and side events for its upcoming 10th Assembly to be held in Busan, Korea. Proposals must be submitted by 31 October 2012.

"We support the struggle for human rights of the people of Papua. We urge an end to the ongoing violence and impunity. We support the call for social and economic justice through serious dialogue and a concrete political process that seeks to address root causes of the present problems," said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Emerging geo-political trends in Asia and their impact on international relations and the shaping of a new world order were analyzed and discussed at the 51st meeting of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will, for the first time since its 1948 inauguration, be holding its first meeting in Shanghai and Nanjing in the People’s Republic of China, focusing on the unique situation of Chinese churches and ecumenical relations in the region.

Religious insights can offer immense resources for peacemaking, Professor Johan Galtung, a pioneer in the discipline of peace studies, has said in a lecture at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

"The fellowship in the church should always be a sign of the empathy of God, with everyone who is suffering, groaning, longing for relief," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in his keynote presentation at the 27th Quadrennial Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI).

"€œThe situation of human rights violations remains worrisome in the Philippines. It ranges from vilification, harassment, torture, evacuation due to military operations and other inhumane treatment of political prisoners," Marie Hilao-Enriquez told the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and other WCC staff during an encounter in Manila, Philippines on 21 March.

Since 1982 there has been only one official statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on mission and evangelism. Now in 2012 the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) is preparing another statement to invoke new understanding of mission and evangelism amidst changing world and ecclesial scenarios.

A consultation on world peace and human security was convened by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on Thursday 9 February. The event precedes a two-day committee meeting charged with following up the report and recommendations of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, which brought 1,000 participants to Kingston, Jamaica in May 2011.