News

Disabled people will try to affirm the church as an inclusive community, but the struggle for recognition at the decision-making levels of the World Council of Churches will be a long and difficult struggle since it was only at the 1998 Harare Assembly that the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network was established as a full programme of the WCC.

Society, and particularly the roles of men, need to be re-organized as a pre-requisite for meaningful social transformation and so that women can be mainstreamed into church and society, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has said.

In the months leading up to the World Council of Churches 9th Assembly, much was made of a desire to include large numbers of young people and to make their voices heard.

Society, and particularly the roles of men, need to be re-organized as a pre-requisite for meaningful social transformation and so that women can be mainstreamed into church and society, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has said.

Over 100 theology students from Latin America and other regions of the world will participate in an international and ecumenical theological congress that will take place in parallel to the World Council of Churches' (WCC) 9th Assembly.

"A world without poverty is not only possible but is in keeping with the grace of God for the world" affirms a call that will play a central role at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Porto Alegre, 14-23 February.

With two months remaining until the World Council of Churches' 9th Assembly in 2006, the organizers have launched an invitation to churches and Christians everywhere to accompany and support the event.

"From Harare to Porto Alegre" is the report of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee on activities and dialogue undertaken within the ecumenical fellowship between the WCC's eighth assembly in December 1998 in Harare Zimbabwe and the ninth assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006.

More and more, learning about, from and with peoples of other faiths is being recognized as a vital aspect of education in faith communities and in state education systems. A web-based survey on interfaith education has just gone online to discover examples of good practice across the world.

The ecumenical movement is a reality for people and congregations around the world who live their faith on a daily basis. An integrated communication project, "Keeping the faith" shows this reality, and conveys the vitality of the ecumenical movement today.