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On the eve of the 22 September United Nations Summit on Climate Change representatives of faith communities around the world called on world leaders and on "all people of Earth to accept the reality of the common danger we face, the imperative and responsibility for immediate and decisive action and the opportunity to change."

Religious diversity is an unavoidable reality today – and an opportunity, according to the participants of an interfaith seminar held in July at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey outside Geneva, Switzerland.

Participants in Christian-Muslim deliberations on conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa are "convinced… that religious leaders have a role and mandate in contributing towards [the] peace and reconciliation process in the region". They have called for "a wider regional peace conference for religious leaders from the Horn of Africa" to be convened by December 2009. Meanwhile, they ask for people of faith to join in prayer as well as in initiatives for spiritual renewal, humanitarian assistance and peace.

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

By Sara Speicher (*)

By Emma Halgren (*)

By Henrik Hansson (*)

Rediscovering the testimonies of Christian faith men and women of different Christian traditions gave over the centuries was the goal that brought some eighty participants from a variety of traditions and countries to the Italian monastery of Bose this autumn.

Over the last decade, Orthodox women reached significant milestones regarding their participation in church life, but many of their concerns have not yet been fully addressed, an international gathering of Orthodox women stated.

A group of young adults again has a significant role at these Central Committee meetings in Geneva, with two dozen young people from 22 countries on five continents serving as stewards. They can be easily spotted around the building, all wearing their royal blue WCC shirts. The stewards assist in a variety of ways during the meetings, often behind the scenes, while learning about the ecumenical movement and the work of the WCC. Their tasks include distributing documents and translation headsets, monitoring the doors of the main hall, setting up for morning prayers, assisting the press operation, running errands, and much more---including the job of ringing bells to summon Central Committee members back to their tables after breaks. Stewards, chosen through a competitive application process, serve during each Central Committee meeting and Assembly.

At today's ecumenical Vespers service presided by Pope Benedict XVI, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia underlined the importance of "a church that is one and united in its witness" to a world marked by violence and disunity.  The service in Rome marked the conclusion of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

A number of major international Christian youth movements and organizations called for stronger efforts towards unity in a joint statement issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Addressed to the heads of the Roman Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches, Christian World Communions and Regional Ecumenical Organizations, the statement asks them to "share ecumenical dialogue with young people" and expresses the commitment of the signatories to "raise awareness of the importance of Christian unity among young people".

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.

"Some would have said that this event was not possible, but here we are - and the world wonders what will come next," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia at the opening of the Global Christian Forum taking place in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya, from 6-9 November.

Students of theology and young theologians are being invited by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to bring new perspectives and contributions to the debate about the future of the ecumenical movement by participating in an essay competition to mark the Council's 60th anniversary.

Churches throughout the world are preparing for next year's Week of prayer for Christian unity which will mark the 100th anniversary of the event. Worship resources in four languages have already been put at their disposal on the website of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The coordinator of the stewards programme at central committee says he is in that position because he himself was inspired by being part of a similar programme seven years ago.

"… an extraordinary woman who lived an extraordinary life during an extraordinary time" is how World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, describes Coretta Scott King in a tribute sent today to member churches in the USA. The widow of the US civil rights leader Martin Luther King, died yesterday, 31 January, at the age of 78.

With two months remaining until the World Council of Churches' 9th Assembly in 2006, the organizers have launched an invitation to churches and Christians everywhere to accompany and support the event.

Free photo available, see below