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Chō Takeda Kiyoko passed away on 12 April at the age of 100. Throughout her many scholarly pursuits, she always strived to deepen her engagement with global ecumenical Christianity. The World Council of Churches released a tribute.

In spite of a seemingly bleak outlook for a solution to the conflict in Palestine and Israel, religious leaders all over the world persist in their advocacy for justice and peace in the Holy Land. That became evident at the WCC peace consultations in Beit Sahour this summer, where 60 leaders and representatives from Christian churches and faith-based organizations around the world gathered to manifest their support for a peaceful end to the occupation of Palestinian territories.

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.

At an International Peace Consultation on 20 June, the National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine issued on open letter to the WCC and the ecumenical movement, stating, “There is still no justice in our land.” In today’s Palestine, discrimination and inequality, military occupation and systematic oppression are the rule, the letter states: “Today, we stand in front of an impasse and we have reached a deadlock. Despite all the promises, endless summits, UN resolutions, religious and lay leader’s callings – Palestinians are still yearning for their freedom and independence, and seeking justice and equality.”

As more people face famine today than any time in modern history, the WCC together with the All Africa Conference of Churches and a range of faith-based partners and networks invite a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine on 21 May 2017, in response to the hunger crisis.

”We are here to listen. To learn what others do, so we can contextualize our understanding of HIV issues, and journey together in our work ahead. Because on HIV, we do not compete. We work together.”

“Is there a way we can address stigma and discrimination among faith communities, to set an example, so that those who are there to provide services, to give care, do not themselves stigmatize? Because when it comes to HIV and AIDS, it doesn’t matter if we are Christians or Muslims, women or men. With HIV and AIDS, we need to deal with it as human beings.”

The World Council of Churches and the International Alliance of Women (IAW) recently organized a guest lecture and panel discussion on “Women in Top Leadership and Decision-Making Positions.” The guest speaker, Torild Skard, reviewed 70 years of struggle for women’s rights and highlighted how little has changed since 1945, when the Charter of the United Nations recognized equal rights of men and women. “The rhetoric developed over time to become more and more ambitious but what about the reality,” Skard said.

More than 150 people attending the interfaith pre-conference, which opened on 16 July in Durban, heard urgent challenges to reduce stigma and discrimination; increase access to HIV services; and defend human rights as key elements of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Representatives of faith-based organizations and communities will gather 16-17 July in Durban, South Africa for an interfaith pre-conference, “Faith on the Fast Track: Reducing Stigma and Discrimination, Increasing Access, and Defending Human Rights – NOW!”

The first female presiding bishop of the Church of Norway says she has had to learn to be clear about where she stands on controversial issues, such as the marriage of same-sex couples – which she supports –while at the same time expressing respect for the point of view of colleagues who oppose it.

Women of African descent have been a force within the global ecumenical movement for decades but are still not well recognized for their contributions. It is time for that to change, say the organizers of a network of pan African theologians, laywomen and clergy within the WCC.

The World Council of Churches, together with the Church of Norway and the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN), invites you to a conversation among prominent women global ecumenical leaders focused on the question:

Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien, Bishops' Conference in the Church of Norway, Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, and the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC will be participating in the opening press conference at 01:00-1:20 pm CET. This will be streamed on the WCC website: www.oikoumene.org/live

A clear, global interfaith call to action to end the AIDS epidemic will be unveiled at an interfaith service on 7 June at 5:30 p.m. in the Church Center of the United Nations, 777 United Nations Plaza in New York City. The service will precede an 8-10 June UN High Level Meeting on AIDS at which world leaders will adopt a concise, action-oriented Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. The declaration will express the commitment of nations to HIV response, and serve as a point of accountability for achieving the goals for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.

A workshop in Tanzania created a “safe space” in which adolescents, church leaders, theologians, development practitioners and others could share their feelings and ideas about HIV response.

The 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women had “the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls” as its review theme.

Almost forty years after the advent of HIV and AIDS, people around the world living with HIV still endure assaults on their dignity and basic human rights—from stigma and discrimination to denial of legal protection and even medical care.