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Bishop Mary Ann Swenson has a unique position in observing and advocating for women’s rights or, as she would quickly clarify, “the fair treatment of human beings” no matter what their gender. As bishop-in-residence at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, she ministers to church members who were not only present at this week’s Golden Globe Awards – they were the nominees. And, as vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, she is part of a global parish, traveling to communities far removed from the privilege of Hollywood, where violence occurs against women who are seen by their own communities as having no voice and no rights.

The visit to China will begin the celebration of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 70th anniversary. In Beijing on 7 January, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit preached in Chongwenmen Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in China, on the theme “Jesus Christ, the Joy of the World.”

Sit beside Bishop Mary Ann Swenson for five minutes, and you see that she is constantly nurturing people to learn more about each other, walk together, and become more unified, no matter their differences.

At a “Hearing on Racism, Discrimination, Afrophobia and Xenophobia” held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 25 September, speakers reflected, lamented and, at times, simply sat in silence as they considered the experience of people of African descent in the USA.

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, on 18 August, released a response condemning recent racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The bishops lamented the loss of life, and condemned “shameful efforts” to promote racial bigotry and white supremacist ideology.

In an open letter on 28 August, former moderators of the general assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessor churches expressed their increasing alarm when notions of nationalism and racial superiority are masked and clothed in terms of the Christian faith.

The first ever action plan specifically designed to enable religious leaders to prevent incitement to violence - the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes - was launched on 14 July by Secretary-General António Guterres at a meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

As a WCC-convened forum on peace on the Korean Peninsula came to a close, participants from around the world, representing many churches, vowed to work together in accompanying the Christians of North and South Korea in their efforts for peace, reconciliation, and development.

Climate justice isn't a policy that can simply be thrown away by any president - it’s a moral decision that affects the well-being of millions of people and future generations across the world. Thousands of people are communicating this message via statements, posts and tweets on social media, and even with earnest conversations with their neighbors. Many are from the WCC fellowship, humanitarian groups, churches and communities, and they are bringing a clear - and unified - voice of justice after US President Donald Trump announced on 2 June that his nation would leave the Paris climate accord.

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.

Nearly 70 percent of the world’s countries have now begun negotiations to ban nuclear weapons. One-hundred-thirty-two governments from all regions took part in the first-ever such talks at the United Nations on 27-31 March. There is concerted opposition to the talks from nuclear-armed governments and their allies.

The report issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June 2015 on abuse of aboriginal children in church-run residential schools included a call for non-aboriginal Canadians to learn about the impact of European settlers and their descendants on the country’s indigenous peoples. Church people have taken that call seriously.

Music can be a key resource in building truly multicultural congregations and communities, found participants at a seminar, “Music and Cultures,” organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 30 October to 2 November in Quebec, Canada.

The Episcopal Church in North Dakota, in an open letter dated 25 October 2016 and penned by Rev. John Floberg, called on communities of faith to converge at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, USA from 2-4 November to “stand witness to water protectors’ acts of compassion for God's creation, and to the transformative power of God's love to make a way out of no way.”

Hope in a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace formed the integral thread for proceedings at the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Trondheim, Norway this week. The 2016 meeting took place 22-28 June, the second gathering since the Central Committee was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013.

The faces of those who lead the global ecumenical movement have changed dramatically since 1954, says the head of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Rev. Dr Sharon Watkins. Pictures of delegates to the World Council of Churches’ assembly held that year in Evanston, USA, show rows of men in dark suits and ties, most of them white.

After visiting the United States in a spirit of accompaniment, a World Council of Churches delegation is preparing a report on how churches can help achieve racial justice.

Churches can offer a renewed and reinvigorated response to the sin of racial hatred, violence and discrimination in the early 21st century, the delegation found, while at the same time noting the intense need for change.

“We had heard that racism continues to be an issue in the United States,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee. “But we did not expect to find it so deep, so wide and so pervasive.”

What has contributed to the idea of a “European identity?” And, within a broad-minded vision of secularism, how can churches and other religious communities contribute? In this context, what is the role of Switzerland?

“Racism remains an issue that divides society and even families,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in a Washington DC workshop on “the theological basis for lifting the voice of the marginalized.” She noted that these dramatically relevant words were not her own, but are drawn from a WCC study on race undertaken in the 1990s.