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WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay offered a reflection during the graduation ceremony on 13 July of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum as young leaders celebrated their two-week long time of collaborating, dialogue, and insight.

Twenty-seven young ecumenists from across Asia are currently attending the month-long Asian Ecumenical Institute organized by the Christian Conference of Asia. The programme aims to provide ecumenical formation and leadership development training for prospective church and ecumenical leaders. It is being held at the Christian Conference of Asia headquarters in Payap University Campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

On 14-16 December, the Conference of European Churches and Cumberland Lodge in the UK will host an Ecumenical Conference on Human Rights with the theme “Towards Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities.”

At a global conference on xenophobia in Rome, a panel of four religious leaders from, respectively, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic traditions, spoke candidly about how xenophobia can sometimes be woven deeply into the fabric of these traditions.

In an age of religious pluralism and of religious justification of all manner of atrocities, how do religious communities contribute authentically to the public good?

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.

An international conference held at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Nikos Kotzias, has gathered around 70 prominent religious, political and academic figures in Athens, Greece, this week.

To achieve just peace in the Middle East, “it is very adequate to focus on what would maintain and reinforce the cultural and religious diversity that has distinguished this region for long centuries,” said the WCC general secretary.

Jayonta Adhikari, a Bangladeshi member of the WCC Central Committee, speaks about socio-political realities for Christians in his country, aspirations for protection of human rights, as well as what the WCC's call for a “pilgrimage of justice of peace” means for the region’s churches.

An upcoming WCC consultation in Bangkok will attempt a distinctive mode of inter-religious dialogue.

“Quite often, it is not the relationship between the Muslim majority and the Christian minority that was, and is, at stake but justice, political participation, human rights and national dignity,” said Dr Tarek Mitri. He added that “community-specific anxiety could not overshadow the common worries of Christians and Muslims" in the Middle East.

By Naveen Qayyum (*)

With the help of participants from several regions of the world a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation recently looked at Christian self-understanding in the context of indigenous spiritual traditions.

During a recent visit to Indonesia, the moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, the Rev. Dr Walter Altmann brought the solidarity of the worldwide fellowship of WCC member churches to the members of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in the city of Bogor, West Java where worship activities have been restricted recently.

An international consultation on Muslim-Christian relations ended with a "call for the formation of a joint working group which can be mobilized whenever a crisis threatens to arise in which Christians and Muslims find themselves in conflict" today in Geneva, Switzerland.

Hook up now to a major ecumenical happening, due to start in just three months!