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Hosting refugees, providing food, helping in hospitals, and ringing church bells as a warning when shelling starts—these are some of the many ways churches are responding in Ukraine and bordering countries as the war continues. More than two million people have poured out of Ukraine, and estimates from relief groups show that 18 million people—a third of the country’s population—will need humanitarian assistance.

The scope of human need is growing exponentially as the war continues between Russia and Ukraine — despite an international outcry for peace — and churches are offering vital assistance to thousands upon thousands of people.

In a pastoral letter to “sisters and brothers in Ethiopia,” eight faith-based organizations expressed Christian love and care, as well as a commitment to accompany churches and people of Ethiopia as they face the challenges confronting their country.

Christian organizations representing 2 billion people—about one-third of the world's population—have released a statement on the dire situation of migrants and refugees in Europe, and they are demanding a more compassionate approach.

In a joint appeal to Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation expressed grief at the continuing violence in Nigeria and urged the Nigerian government to better protect the people.

Discussions between Lutheran and Orthodox theologians on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church have identified areas of agreement, though they agreed considerable open questions and differences merit further discussion.

As the council of the Lutheran World Federation met on 12 June, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit shared greetings and appreciation.

Pilgrims coming from Germany, Italy and Norway ended their journeys for climate justice on 7 December upon arrival at the St Stephen’s Church in Katowice, Poland, where the United Nations (UN) climate conference is underway. They were warmly welcomed by the delegations of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that are attending the 24th Conference of Parties of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24).

The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), ACT Alliance and the German Protestant development service Bread for the World are appealing to world leaders to take swift and coordinated action to limit global warming to 1.5°C degrees as a humanitarian and ethical obligation.

The WCC continues to receive messages of thanksgiving and encouragement from member churches, sister organizations and the wider ecumenical movement as the fellowship marks 70 years in working for Christian unity and action.

A delegation from the Evangelical Church in Germany is visiting the WCC on 26-27 October for an ecumenical learning experience that includes prayers with students from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, an introduction and overview of the work of the WCC, a meeting with the Lutheran World Federation, and a guided tour of the Ecumenical Centre.

On 29 June, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) published guidance aimed at helping humanitarian agencies attune their work to the faith and background of people affected by conflict, disaster and displacement.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, told the new Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council meeting that its stated theme—“Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8)—not only “points to the most significant contribution of the Lutheran tradition” to the ecumenical movement but also “goes to the heart of our shared mission as churches.”

To mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, sport demonstrations, cultural activities, and a #whitecard torch relay, with which the WCC and some of its partner organizations are linked, will be held in Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan on 6 April.

In 2018 we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches. In order to create a lively firsthand account of the ecumenical fellowship and of our shared journey, member churches have contributed stories of people, events, achievements and even failures, all of which have deepened our collective search for Christian unity. This story was written by Olle Eriksson, a Namibian who worked for 35 years (1968 – 2003) with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission and Lutheran World Federation.

There are currently over 65 million people around the world who have been forced from their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, but all those who are displaced are not mere statistics. They are people, something that can be missed by the mass media in reporting on them. This observation was highlighted in a discussion at the WCC on 30 January when representatives of church groups, the United Nations and a Christian media organization discussed media coverage of refugees at a “tray-lunch” presentation.

General elections were held in Honduras on 26 November 2017, the first since the Supreme Court of Justice decided to permit the reelection of the president, despite this being against the constitution.

A Salvadoran Cross that is a now an icon of Christian unity was dedicated and placed in the World Council of Churches’ Chapel in Geneva, Switzerland on the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.