Local churches in Palestine/Israel are looking to the whole fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to play a stronger role in supporting local churches' struggles for a just peace there. This is the main finding of a delegation led by the Council's general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia that visited Palestine/Israel from 21 to 26 June. A new advocacy forum launched prior to the visit, and ecumenical accompaniment are high on the...

Heads of churches in Jerusalem have welcomed the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum launched in Jordan last week. They voiced satisfaction with the new advocacy initiative at meetings with World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia during his 21-26 June visit to the Holy Land.

Churches around the world are concerned about the fate of migrants fleeing from poverty or violence in their home countries. In Africa, the promise of a better life is luring many young people to Europe and the USA, where a lot of them end up as illegal migrants. In Sri Lanka, the armed conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is producing migrants by the thousands who now live in fear of abduction. In...

A new ecumenical advocacy initiative launched at the culmination of a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference in Jordan this week, is to help churches worldwide work for a just peace in Palestine/Israel.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit member churches and Christian communities in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel on 21-26 June.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is convening an international conference called "Churches together for Peace with Justice in the Middle East" in Jordan, 17-21 June. The event will address prospects for peace in Israel and Palestine and launch a new church advocacy forum.

Praying with Jerusalem's Christians, marching to the White House or sponsoring one of 14,609 olive trees are among the activities taking place in "International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel" this week. The initiative is organized by member churches and related organizations of the World Council of Churches to mark 40 years of the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. It involves public activities and...

On Sunday, 3 June, in an ecumenical service held in Jerusalem's St. Stephens Church to mark the anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, church leaders called for an end to 40 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and emphasized the church's commitment to non-violence in the service of peace.

To highlight the urgency of peace in Palestine and Israel after 40 years of occupation, the World Council of Churches (WCC), member churches and related organizations are organizing a week of prayers, seminars and advocacy to mark this June's anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The goal of the week is to raise awareness in churches and civil society and to impress upon governments the need for new efforts to end the conflict and negotiate...

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has received with "deep concern" the recent withdrawal of Jordan's recognition of Patriarch Theophilos III as the head of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and requested the decision to be reconsidered.