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His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is visiting Iceland from 12-15 October, invited by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, the WCC and the Arctic Circle. The Ecumenical Patriarch will deliver a keynote speech at the Arctic Circle Assembly under the title Just Peace with Earth on 13 October, then preside over a Divine Liturgy in the Hallgrímskirkja cathedral in Reykjavík and attend an ecumenical service on 15 October.

At a meeting in Auckland, New Zealand from 1-3 August, the Pacific Conference of Churches released texts on climate change and nuclear weapons, and issued calls to action related to human rights and other issues.

On 18-19 July, 35 young leaders from 14 countries across Asia – part of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Youth in Asia Training in Religious Amity (YATRA) – travelled to the Indonesian city of Bandung to meet with faith leaders and young activists engaged in interreligious dialogue and work.

Irish church leaders have in an ecumenical message called for a spirit of hope and continued peace-building in Northern Ireland when talks resume to form a government there after the UK General Election. The church leaders from Northern Ireland were speaking before voters there along with those from England, Wales and Scotland were to vote in a general election on 8 June for the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland’s future has been uncertain in recent months after the 10-year power-sharing coalition of unionists.

As the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2017 (GETI’17) drew to a close in Berlin on 31 May, participants rejoiced in a sense of renewed ecumenical energy, and of fellowship across traditions, as they prepare to return to their home contexts.

Not nearly enough is being done to save the lives of the 20 million people who face famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria. Among them are 1.4 million children, who are at imminent risk of death unless aid reaches them immediately.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke before the Christian Council of Norway as the council met and observed its 25th anniversary. Tveit, who was involved in the CCN at the time it was created, also helped expand and reorganize the CCN in 2006, at which time he served as its general secretary.

On 12 March, Jane Murenga, a head teacher at a local Anglican Church-sponsored primary school, was raped and murdered in Githure village, Kirinyaga County in Kenya. She was hosting her younger sister at her home. She left the main house to take a shower in the bathroom which is detached from the house. Her sister decided to check on her, only to find her on the ground lifeless with a man on top of her, raping her.

The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) have worked together to prepare the “2017 Easter Joint North-South Prayer.”

He earned the title “Green Patriarch” as a religious leader addressing alarming environmental issues over at least two decades. In 2008, Time Magazine named His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as one of 100 Most Influential People in the World, for “defining environmentalism as spiritual responsibility”.

As Christians worldwide await the arrival of the Holy Child in late December, children in Bethlehem have been playing a particular role in preparation of the WCC's Christmas message this year.

On 17-23 November, the Executive Committee of the WCC met for the first time ever in China. The visit was hosted by the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement is a Protestant church in the People's Republic of China, as well as one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world.

The descendants of the last family to live at Chateau de Bossey before it was acquired by the WCC are elated it is now a centre that brings people from different Christian traditions and other faiths together to understand one another better.