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Religion is a double-edged sword for women healing from violence and trauma, yet they find their way out of pain in amazing ways, say two scholars whose work investigates and analyses this.

Exploring realities of multi-religious societies and discovering new ways of working together as faith communities to promote justice and peace, young Christian leaders from Asia have gathered in Cambodia to take part in a two-week training programme called Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity (YATRA).

The moderator of the WCC Central Committee called for an openness to change in an era of encounter with “different types of cultures and religions”.

With a growing awareness of plurality in theological education as a result of the changing faces of Christianity, and the reality of churches co-existing with other religions, members of the executive committee of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions affirmed their commitment to cooperate closely, share information and build collaborative networks to strengthen world-wide initiatives in ecumenical theological education.

With 15 million members of various ethnicities and backgrounds living alongside the world’s largest national Muslim population, Indonesian churches hope to make a dynamic contribution to the upcoming assembly of the WCC in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Young people of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths have created a unique community during a summer course at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey. Together they seek to break religious stereotypes, promote mutual respect and enhance their understanding of religions beyond the conflict paradigm.

“Uganda is a country of strong Christian witness. It is a country of Christian martyrs like Archbishop Janani Luwum, who lost his life at the hands of Idi Amin. It is therefore natural that we get together in Uganda to see what peace, justice and dignity mean to the African churches.”

The WCC general secretary on 3 June spoke to a UN conference on opportunities and challenges for the 21st century.

A seminar at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland gathered diverse reflections on eco-theology, care for the creation and climate change, and how to build a sustainable world. The contributors included Christian theologians and activists as well as youth.

The WCC general secretary has expressed solidarity with Bangladesh, and concern over recent tragedies in the country, including the loss of over a thousand lives in a garment factory accident near Dhaka, as well as increasing attacks against religious minorities.

A conference held by the WCC and the Focolare movement founded by Chiara Lubich addressed the theme of “Peace and justice, fruits of unity” on the 10th anniversary of Lubich’s last visit to Geneva and the fifth year after her death.

“It is impossible to speak exclusively for the unity of the church and be indifferent about the unity of humankind,” said Dr Petros Vassiliadis, at an academic gathering held in his honour in Thessaloniki, Greece.

It is not imaginable for the World Council of Churches (WCC) to have a future “without a much stronger emphasis on international affairs and peace with justice,” said Martin Robra, programme director for the study of ecumenism in the 21st century, at a consultation on "churches and the rule of law" this week in Geneva.

African theologian, renowned academic and ecumenist Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri has joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) as its new associate general secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia. She took on her new position at the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, this month.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been playing an active role in the two major events that are taking place in Rio from 12 to 23 June: the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio+20, and the People’s Summit.

Transformative spiritualities and mission is a significant point of discussion at the pre-assembly event of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) which is currently under way in Manila. Transformative spiritualities are also one of the constituent themes of the CWME statement on mission and evangelism that will be presented to the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Korea in 2013. Dr Rico Palaca Ponce, academic director of the Institute of Spirituality in Asia based in Quezon City, the Philippines, gave an interview on the topic on 23 March.

“Christians are to acknowledge that changing one’s religion is a decisive step that must be accompanied by sufficient time for reflection and preparation, through a process ensuring full personal freedom.” This assertion is one of the guiding principles for Christian mission in India suggested in early March by a consultation convened under the leadership of the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore University (BTESSC).

A call for solidarity with the poor was delivered to a gathering of religious, political and civil society leaders from all over the world by one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The meeting on the topic “Bound to Live Together: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue” is taking place from 11-13 September in Munich, Germany.

Fifteen leaders of dioceses and national church bodies in Norway, among them all 12 bishops of the Church of Norway, joined in common prayer on Wednesday morning 17 August at the Ecumenical Centre chapel in Geneva, Switzerland. They were joined in this act of worship by members of the Norwegian congregation in Geneva and staff of many church-related agencies including the ACT Alliance, Conference of European Churches, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and World Council of Churches (WCC).