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Concerned about the integrity of elections, the World Council of Churches Central Committee stated recently that, "…in democratic systems, elections serve as a way for people to confer legitimacy on a participatory democratic political system. In order to ensure that an election truly reflects the will of the people, attention should be paid to pre- and post-electoral mechanisms."

The diminishing religious diversity in the Middle East was discussed as a threat to the stability of the region on Monday 21 April meeting between a WCC delegation and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The World Council of Churches central committee issued a reminder on the pressing issue of climate change this week, urging member churches and others to "Be stewards of God's creation".

By Walt Wiltschek (*)

The church has an important role to play if Kenya is to achieve peace and stability for the future, several speakers said Friday. The African nation has seen significant violence over the past two months in the wake of presidential elections, killing nearly 1,000 people and forcing some 300,000 others to flee their homes. "We believe that for Kenya and Africa, church unity and ecumenical cooperation is not just an optional alternative", said Rev. Dr Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, which is based in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. "Sometimes the churches have to work hard if they are to be relevant". Eden Grace, a member of the Friends (Quakers) who was based in the city of Kisumu until the violence erupted and forced her to evacuate, said the church "has to have a role in restoring the ability of Kenyans to live side by side". The WCC Central Committee is expected to consider one or more public issues statements related to Kenya during their meetings in Geneva, which conclude 20 February. For more information on a recent WCC ecumenical solidarity visit to Kenya, go to http://overcomingviolence.org/index.php?id=5524 .

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Can churches be peacemakers in a world racked by violence? This is the question to be addressed by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC, on Sunday, 16 December 2007.

By Jerry Hames (*)

By Jerry Hames (*)

Local churches in Palestine/Israel are looking to the whole fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to play a stronger role in supporting local churches' struggles for a just peace there. This is the main finding of a delegation led by the Council's general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia that visited Palestine/Israel from 21 to 26 June. A new advocacy forum launched prior to the visit, and ecumenical accompaniment are high on the churches' list of actions in pursuit of this goal.

In a symbolic act of closure of the year that began with the first WCC assembly in Latin America, World Council of Churches central committee moderator Rev. Dr Walter Altmann visited an interactive exhibition on domestic violence in downtown Porto Alegre/Brazil.

In a major new initiative, the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has endorsed proposals to establish a comprehensive ecumenical advocacy initiative for peace in the Middle East, and has reiterated its alarm at the dramatic humanitarian consequences and alleged violations of international law during the recent war in Lebanon and northern Israel. Â

Lebanon's minister of culture, Dr Tarek Mitri, on 2 September expressed gratitude to the World Council of Churches (WCC), for its expressions of solidarity following Israel's attacks on Lebanon.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia encouraged the Council's member churches to pray for all those suffering as a result of the Middle East crisis, to support the appeals for emergency aid and to speak out for justice among the states and peoples in the region.

Former top United Nations weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix, now the chair of The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC), is scheduled to present the WMDC's report at the World Council of Churches (WCC) during a ceremony at the Ecumenical Centre on Thursday evening 15 June 2006.

At its first meeting since its appointment in February 2006, the WCC's executive committee has approved new programmatic directions for the Council and has endorsed a framework for activities in the coming years.

by Walt Wiltschek (*)

<span style="font-weight: bold; "» African church leaders visit Israel & Palestine

Deep concern about "the increasing use of detention to restrict and deter cross-border movement by asylum seekers and other migrants" prompted the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Global Ecumenical Network on Uprooted Peoples (GEN) to circulate a statement on this issue at a meeting in Geneva this week of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees' (UNHCR) Executive Committee.

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)