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It is raining. It is cold and windy. Autumn is in the air in northern Greece. We have just arrived at the Idomeni refugee camp in northern Greece, on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The fast-approaching winter poses as great a threat to the refugees as do the smugglers. In the worst case, winter means death.

Even before Rev. Dr Solomon Mepaiyeda heard about the Ecumenical Institute at Chateau de Bossey, he knew he wanted to study at a reputable ecumenical institution. “I wanted to contribute to collaborative efforts among Nigerian churches,” said Mepaiyeda, a member of the Anglican Church.

Women are virtually invisible in news reporting on peace and security issues in nations experiencing conflict.

Ecumenical efforts led by the WCC continue to encourage peace in Ukraine, where a fragile cease-fire is daily tested by violence in the eastern part of the country.

It was a peace hike inspired by the biblical story of Emmaus, crisscrossing part of the Holy Land, following the footsteps of Jesus.

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), discussed the churches and peacemaking challenges during a meeting in Moscow 22 April with Patriarch Kirill, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, and with Metropolitan Hilarion, chair of the Russian Orthodox Church’s department of external church relations. This is their second visit in the past year. There were two issues on the agenda: violence against Christian minorities and Ukraine.

Twenty-five years ago, on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. This came about through a “movement of many people who demonstrated peacefully in the streets,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Amidst the reality of tensions often fueled by religions, a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish youth has formed a multi-faith community. As part of an interfaith summer course sponsored by the WCC, this community wants to work for the protection of creation – a concern they say is common to all faith traditions.

Father Ioan Sauca of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Peter Prove, a Lutheran lawyer and international affairs expert from Australia, have been named to key staff positions in the WCC.

“As faith communities and religious leaders, we are obliged constantly to remind people about the obligation and responsibility to choose peace through dialogue,” said Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

During a recent visit, members of the committee responsible for hosting the upcoming WCC assembly in Busan shared their hope for a “meaningful and successful assembly” which will bring together the worldwide fellowship of WCC member churches in the Republic of Korea for celebration, deliberations and prayer.

Work for the rights of religious minorities should be done in the spirit of universalism, said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in his opening address at a WCC consultation.

Pastors from Germany and Argentina reflect on what peace and justice means while a local church in Germany encourages others to do the same through a new resource.