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(LWF Communication) – An ecumenical prayer service in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States, marked the opening of a four-day consultation of five Christian World Communions discussing the historic importance of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) and its impact on the search for full, visible unity of the church.

On 14 February, the Global Christian Forum Committee concluded a fruitful five-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where priorities were carved out and future directions of the network outlined.

Almost 30 international students from the WCC's Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Switzerland, are embarking on a future of ecumenism, dialogue and unity that began with months of intense study and fellowship.

Twenty-nine students from the WCC Bossey Ecumenical Institute traveled to Rome for the annual study visit to the Vatican, and to take part in the inauguration of the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is observed 18-25 January.

A “Bible App” is making material for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity available on smart phones, computers and tablets as the World Council of Churches (WCC) continues its collaboration with YouVersion.

From 18-25 January, Christians will embark on the largest prayer gathering in the world, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Whether praying together, exchanging preachers or planning ecumenical services, they will bear witness to Jesus’s prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe.”

Respect for the other lies at the heart of peace education and was a key thread through a debate entitled “Education for Peace in a multi-religious world”. It was held on the 2018 World Human Rights Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Peace education to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between people involving the religious and secular sectors is needed to counter uncertainty fed by radicalization and xenophobia, says a leading human rights advocate.

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.

The Annual Conference of Secretaries of World Christian Communions took place at the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Switzerland on 6-8 November.

Maryland-based, Ghanaian-born Rev. Dr Casely Essamuah was in February selected as secretary of the Global Christian Forum. Originally ordained in the Methodist Church in Ghana, he began his work officially in July. This week he made a study visit to the WCC and the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva and the WCC was able to converse with him.

What else could your family, your parish, your community do to respond to the needs of migrants and refugees arriving in your country? Representatives of many different churches met in Rome in September to discuss that practical question, as well as respond to the broader challenge of how people of faith can combat the rising tide of racism, xenophobia and nationalist policies that increasingly target vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers.

Member churches of the 8th Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) General Assembly gathered in Basel, Switzerland on 13-18 September. The choice of the Basel Cathedral and the adjoining pre-Reformation Bishops Palace to meet suited well the historic moment on Switzerland’s Day of Prayer of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer.

Catholic and World Council of Churches (WCC) leaders, meeting in Rome to discuss ways of combating racism and xenophobia, have pledged to uphold the rights and dignity of migrants and refugees.

Pope Francis met on 20 September with leaders of different Christian churches who have been taking part in a Rome meeting on combating racism and xenophobia, saying he hoped their encounter would give rise to many other such shared initiatives.