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The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted Bishop Dr Jukka Keskitalo and Rev. Pekka Mustakallio from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, to discuss the ecumenical agenda of 2023 and the harvesting of the WCC 11 th assembly, as well a group from the Centre for Ecumenism of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, and 21 ordinands from the Church of Sweden.

Religions for Peace is the world's largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, and as in other multi-faith groups, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its ecumenical family figure strongly in its leadership bodies.

A century after the landmark Paris Peace Conference that followed the First World War, representatives of churches from throughout Europe gathered in the French capital to seek ways of strengthening peace in the 21st century.

The International Ecumenical Fellowship (IEF) held its 45th Conference in Krakow, Poland, 22-29 July under the theme “Love of Christ Compels Us.” The gathering drew nearly 200 participants from Europe, including the Ukraine, as well as from Colombia

Faith-based groups gathered on 2 December, the eve of the opening of the United Nations climate conference, in Katowice, Poland, for an Interfaith Talanoa Dialogue to take stock of the collective global efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

An “Interreligious Dialogue for Peace, Promoting Peaceful Coexistence & Common Citizenship” in Vienna on 26 February is creating a first-ever joint action plan for Arab religious leaders to lead the way in repairing the divisions created by extremists, and rebuilding social cohesion and common citizenship in the Arab region.

Another step towards preventing incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes was taken on Tuesday this week, when religious leaders and other actors gathered for a three-day meeting in Vienna to discuss the implementation of the Plan of Action for such prevention.

A conference organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland under the theme “Just Peace with Earth” was offered in conjunction with the Arctic Assembly, the largest annual international gathering focused on the future of the Arctic held Oct. 13-15.

Katariina Väisänen from Finland is used to ecumenical experiences, but was pleased at a course on peacebuilding in Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Geneva on how much she could share with her fellow participants due to their common humanity.

From Paris to Pakistan, Orlando to Myanmar, Iraq to Nigeria, each day witnesses conflict and violence perpetrated in the name of religion or committed against persons because of their religious identity.

To promote open discussions on the theological and practical discourse, narrative and experiences on implications for the work of the multi-religious organizations on religion, violence and extremism, the WCC, along with the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church and the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists held a Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.

Following the WCC/UN High Level Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, which took place at the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on 18-19 January, a statement has been issued entitled "Europe’s Response to the Refuge Crisis, From Origin to Transit, Reception and Refuge, A Call for Shared Responsibility and Coordinated Action”.

Hope is both an inspiration and a criterion for advocacy, reflected Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, in a keynote lecture offered at the General Nordic Conference on Systematic Theology in Helsinki. The conference took place from 7 to 10 January.

Faith campaigners have presented a total of 1,780,528 signatures gathered worldwide calling for decisive action to curb global warming. The petitions were delivered to leaders of the United Nations COP 21 climate conference beginning its work in Paris.

Violence in the name of religion echoed in the distance, demanding a response, through the November 2015 meeting of the 25-member Executive Committee of the WCC in Bogis-Bossey and nearby Geneva, Switzerland as it planned the work of the Council in the coming years.

The WCC Executive Committee has strongly condemned the latest terror attacks in Paris and Beirut.

The WCC “is moving forward on our common pilgrimage, even as we face many challenges,” general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit affirmed in his semi-annual report to the WCC Executive Committee.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.