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The need to keep together evangelism and the quest for social justice was highlighted by a representative of an ecumenical mission body speaking at an international church conference in Edinburgh on 3 June.

"To be one, the Church must go back to its common basis. Nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified", the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has said. The cross is not just a sign of religious identity, he added, but a "reality check" for both the churches and the ecumenical movement.

The role of the church in building just peace was highlighted last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where three World Council of Churches (WCC) advisory groups met to recognize the culmination of the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) and the forthcoming International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) scheduled for May 2011.

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The Assembly of the Council for World Mission has appointed Rev. Dr Moiseraele Prince Dibeela as moderator to lead CWM's Trustee Body for the next three years.

Churches in Korea who used to be at the "receiving end" of mission efforts are being transformed to become a "missioning" or sending church, according to representatives of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) who met with WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in Geneva, Switzerland on 14 October.

Nazeli Kandakarjian, a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia) in Lebanon, is serving as a young adult steward at these central committee meetings. She arrived five days late for the training programme due to a series of visa difficulties, ultimately receiving her visa just a few hours before her rescheduled flight on 11 Feb. "It was like in the movies", she said of the last-minute rush. When she finally arrived in Geneva, though--her first trip outside the Middle East--she was warmly welcomed by the other stewards. They were eager to learn about her, and she enjoyed hearing their stories, as well. She said the group bonded quickly and has worked well together. "It's like being in the center of the globe", said Kandakarjian, who was born in Kuwait. "I have people from all over the world telling me their experiences. It couldn't be any better than this. I'm so happy to be here". A friend who attended the WCC Assembly in Porto Alegre in 2006 encouraged her to apply for the stewards programme. She did, because she liked the idea of actually working at the meetings and not just being an observer. Now Kandakarjian is carrying that same message to others. "I would like to encourage everyone to be in this kind of experience", she said, expressing an appreciation for the ecumenical work she was able to witness. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's great". All of the stewards were recognised at the conclusion of the meetings Wednesday with a round of applause and the moderator's thanks, and each received the gift of a WCC watch.

Speaking during the Lenten season that builds to the central Christian hope of the risen Christ, World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Rev. Dr Walter Altmann addressed the Central Committee on Wednesday 13 February with a renewed call to "visible unity" in the church.

Methodist archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen of Nigeria has been chosen to moderate the Continuation Committee on Ecumenism in the 21st Century, a group assigned to monitor and encourage initiatives in the global quest for Christian unity. He was affirmed by consensus of the fourteen members attending the committee's first meeting during the week of 18-20 November in Bossey, Switzerland.

After four days of meetings, some 240 leaders of a broad range of churches, confessions and interchurch organizations from over 70 countries agreed to carry forward what they call "the Global Christian Forum process", an open platform for encounter and dialogue whose goal is to "foster mutual respect, explore and address common challenges".

A unique gathering of high level church leaders to start Tuesday 6 November near Nairobi, Kenya, features the broadest range of Christian traditions ever represented at a global meeting, allowing for a discussion of unprecedented ecumenical breadth on what Christians are called to do - together if possible - in the world today.

War-torn Sri Lanka is to receive the first of a series of ecumenical "living letters" teams which will visit Christian communities facing situations of violence in different regions of the world in the run up to the 2011 International Ecumenical Peace Convocation being organized by the World Council of Churches.

Young people will strengthen their profile in the World Council of Churches (WCC), following the establishment by its central committee of a new body to promote the participation of youth in the organization's life and work.