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The organizers of Germany’s biggest ecumenical gathering planned for 2021 have announced they intend the event to go ahead but on a reduced scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with strict hygiene measures.

A Declaration for the People’s Korea Peace Agreement was launched on 23 July at a global Zoom convention initiated by the National Council of Churches in Korea, along with civil organizations.

In a meeting with a format and focus dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) this week addressed vital international developments and situations.

In a meeting whose format and focus were dictated by the global pandemic, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) this week also addressed vital international developments and situations.

The World Council of Churches executive committee met virtually on 1-3 June. The work of the committee, in three intense sessions, focused on governance matters, giving consideration to the ways of working until face-to-face governance meetings can occur again; and to finance matters, with the need to address the requirement for a revised budget for this year. In addition, two public statements have been prepared, discussed and issued, the first concerning the role of churches as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and the second a “Statement on Racial Justice in the USA.”

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca has been confirmed interim WCC general secretary by the executive committee at an online meeting held on 3 June. Sauca will hold the post until the WCC central committee meets in June 2021.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Rev. Prof. Dr Mary-Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, a South African pastor and academic who was currently serving as the WCC president from Africa since 2013. She passed away on 19 May.

Following is the response of World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca to an open letter to the global ecumenical community on the Wuppertal Declaration, a conference message released in June 2019, when representatives from numerous countries and different denominational and faith traditions gathered in Wuppertal, Germany, to discuss the profound global ecological crisis.

Was 1920 to the ecumenical movement what the ancient used to call annus mirabilis, an amazing year? If you are confined like me you may take time to think about it. We start our ecumenical tour of 1920 one year earlier.

On Tuesday, 31 March at noon, Central European time, a panel of experienced church leaders and medical experts goes on air to address the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic from a medical, moral, and spiritual perspective. Moderated by outgoing World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, the televised 60-minute session is accessible via the WCC website.

Adv Rajendra Sail, a noted human rights activist and ecumenist from India, passed away on 26 January, at age 72. Sail stood out from the Christian community for his deeper engagements on human rights issues and bold steps in questioning the government on its failures to adhere to the principles of democracy and secular commitment.

A high-level delegation of the World Council of Churches (WCC), who are being hosted by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) from 7-12 December 2019, have today kicked-off their official WCC Pilgrim Team Visit to South Africa with a courtesy call on H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa and some Cabinet Ministers, at Lakes Hotel, in Benoni.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee met from 20-26 November at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, to approve the 2020 programme plans and budget, follow up and decide on a variety of assembly matters, discuss world affairs and issue seven statements in response to current situations. The Executive Committee also discerned the way forward for the WCC’s Youth Communication Strategy.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee is meeting from 20-26 November at the Bossey Ecumenical institute with a packed agenda that includes many important organizational decisions and discussions.

As autumn is beginning to kick in, churches in Karlsruhe and across Germany are making headway in preparing to receive the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly in 2021.

“The Church, as the movement of God’s people, must be increasingly engaged in the defense of human rights and the rights of the forest”, reads a letter from the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil presented to the Synod for the Amazon, on 9 October, in the Vatican.

Churches across southern Africa are publicly saying #EnoughIsEnough,” with many denominations and congregations continuing to issue strong statements, arrange special prayer events, and speak out against rising levels of violence.

Both the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) have been discussing gender justice and how to keep the momentum going on the unprecedented public demand for change.

Through adoption of a resolution in support of the Thursdays in Black campaign in August, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly has publicly affirmed the church’s commitment to fostering gender justice. The action is a significant official step that now formally “calls upon all people across all expressions of the church to participate in the #ThursdaysinBlack campaign by wearing black on Thursdays and actively participating in the various reflection and action items.”

Twenty-five ecumenical theologians and leaders gathered for public lectures coordinated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Tokyo, Japan, on 17 September under the theme “Global Manifestations of Racism Today”.

Lectures and responses reflected on racism as a major concern of the ecumenical movement. Reflections focused on understanding global manifestations of racism today, and reaffirming the intersection of race and ethnicity with other determining characteristics．

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC) met formally on 25-27 June in Paris, under the theme “The normalization of hatred: challenges for Jews and Christians today”. This meeting took place at a time of significant challenges in public and religious life for many communities around the world. At the meeting Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, presented the WCC policies on antisemitism and the WCC’s work for human rights for all. The WCC News met with him after the meeting.