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After more than 30 years as a pastor, ecumenist and church leader, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit firmly believes that the church can change the world. As general secretary of the WCC for the past ten years, he has witnessed what Jesus Christ means to people of faith around the globe. By the end of this month he heads home to lead the Church of Norway as presiding bishop of its bishop’s conference.

As the world grapples with the spread of the new coronavirus, churches are finding ways to continue their traditions, but now by virtual means. On the coming Sabbath, churches around the world will engage in prayer, not publicly – as the church moves out of big public buildings – but inside the private spaces of homes.

In the past several months, beginning with an epidemic that quickly became an emergency situation, COVID-19 has escalated into a global crisis, spreading fear and uncertainty everywhere.

The WCC, via a specific landing page on its website, is reaching out to the worldwide fellowship with a sense of pastoral care amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The following is the second in a series about the response of the WCC, member churches and all people of goodwill to COVID-19. The purpose of these stories is to share hopes, concerns and best practices among our one human family. - WCC director of communication Marianne Ejdersten.

People pray daily for an end to the coronavirus-COVID-19 that is gripping the world, turning human interaction into a virtual affair and upending lives everywhere during a struggle against a silent enemy about which little is known.

Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca has been appointed acting World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary beginning 1 April. Sauca, who currently serves as deputy general secretary for the WCC programme on Ecumenical Formation and Bossey Ecumenical Institute, will hold the general secretary post until the WCC Executive Committee meets in June.

The Protestant Church of South India’s sustainable environmental education initiative has been nominated for the 2019 UNESCO-Japan Prize.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches will meet 18 – 24 March at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. It will be the fourth meeting of this Central Committee since it was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013.

Although she loves what she is doing, there are times when bishop Sofie Petersen feels a strong desire to be someplace else than inside her cosy diocesan office in Nuuk, Greenland. Preferably outdoors, inhaling crisp, arctic air in a stunningly beautiful landscape where mighty polar bears roam and huge whales gently plough their way through the ice-scattered waters along the coastline.

A war erupted on the Korean Peninsula 70 years ago that divided Korea and that has yet to end. So, the world’s churches have launched a “70 Days of Prayers - Global Prayer Campaign” for peace.

World Council of Churches invites the media representatives to the event announcing 70 days of global prayer for peace on the Korean Peninsula on 6 February at 11.30 CET at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) was nominated as a top non-governmental organization and received a 4th place in the Geneva Engage Award on 29 January. The honor recognises the actors in International Geneva for their social media outreach and online engagement.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches will meet 18 – 24 March at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. It will be the fourth meeting of this Central Committee since it was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013.

Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber, from the Evangelical Church in Germany, is also a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee. WCC Communication spoke to her about preparations for the WCC 11th Assembly, to be held in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly Planning Committee is meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany from 2-9 December, marking the committee’s third preparatory meeting and its first meeting with the local host committee in Germany. The planning this week has a special focus on youth participation and spiritual life in the 11th WCC Assembly, to be held in September 2021.

The WHO Director-General has convened a Civil Society Working Group on non-communicable diseases to strengthen civil society contribution to combat NCDs. In this regard, the WHO has appointed the WCC programme executive for Health and Healing, Dr Mwai Makoka, to this working group.

Rev. Dr Martin Robra has been a key contributor to the ecumenical movement for the last 25 years, working for the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Robra is a theologian and ordained pastor who served as programme executive for the WCC for Ecumenical Continuing Formation, Roman Catholic relations, the joint inter-faith project with the International Labour Organisation Advancing Peace through social justice and support for the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

WCC Communication asked Robra to reflect on his years of service to the WCC fellowship.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is highlighting the links between the household of God, and the fundamental need to make our homes safe and loving spaces during 16 Days Against Gender-based Violence. “16 Days” is an annual international campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day.

On 18 November a delegation led by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met with the prime minister of the Republic of Korea, Lee Nak-yeon.