At the recent Central Committee meeting, three female presidents of the World Council of Churches expressed concern and disappointment over the lack of women in senior staff leadership. As of 1 October, all leadership positions at the WCC in programmes and at the senior level will be men.

The election of a new general secretary for the organization and the selection of the venue for its next assembly were highlights of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee meeting that ended yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) urged its member churches "to publicly condemn violence against women" in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and declare that "violence against women is a sin".

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) prepares for a new general secretary in January 2010 and its 10th Assembly in 2013, it also faces some financial challenges because of reduced income from donors, member churches and fluctuations in exchange rates.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has called on member churches to "recognize that the continued discrimination and exclusion of millions of people on the basis of caste" is a "serious challenge to the credibility of their witness to their faith in God".

The WCC Central Committee urged the Methodist Church in Fiji to engage in dialogue with the interim government of the Pacific island.

The WCC Central Committee on Wednesday, 2 September adopted a statement on just finance and the economy of life. The statement notes that the global financial system has "enriched some people but has harmed many more, creating poverty, unemployment, hunger and death" and "widening the gap between rich and poor".

The WCC Central Committee on Wednesday, 2 September adopted a minute on the responsibility of churches for communities enduring anti-Christian violence. Numerous central committee members brought the concern to the body's public issues committee.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee called on the Israeli government to freeze and begin to dismantle settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. It also encouraged a commitment to non-violence and peace negotiations, and reiterated the need for an international boycott of products and services from settlements.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee adopted a "Statement on eco-justice and ecological debt" on Wednesday, 2 September. The statement proposes that Christians have a deep moral obligation to promote ecological justice by addressing our debts to peoples most affected by ecological destruction and to the earth itself. The statement addresses ecological debt and includes hard economic calculations as well as biblical,...

Rev. Dr Solomon Zwana, new general secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, says his organization and his country need the prayers and support of the world.

Young people have spent years knocking at the door of the World Council of Churches, seeking greater involvement in the life of the organization. In the past few years, that door has opened further.

The WCC Central Committee called on the government of Pakistan to “guarantee the rights of all religious minorities in the country”.

The World Council of Churches Central Committee again took up the issue of Sudan at meetings in Geneva this week, issuing a “Statement on the Darfur crisis in the context of Sudan”. Since early 2003, the statement says, “the conflict in Darfur has unleashed an overwhelming wave of violence resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and an immense humanitarian crisis”.

A beachfront location, an opportunity to be a witness for peace and reconciliation, and a commitment to engage the breadth of the region’s church community as widely as possible: these are among the features those attending the World Council of Churches’ 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea can expect.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee adopted a “Statement of hope in a year of opportunity: seeking a nuclear weapon free world” on Tuesday 1 September. Seven decades into the nuclear age the statement calls on churches to take advantage of several promising opportunities in the coming year to advocate for a world without nuclear weapons.

If someone has a headache, they usually take an aspirin or other pain reliever. If someone has a cut, they might put a Band-Aid on it, or get stitches. Other types of pain and wounds, however, often are not so easily cared for. How does one care for people who have lost their homes or their families? What does one say to a fellow Christian who is suffering? How is God’s love communicated amid violence?

The World Council of Churches Central Committee on Tuesday, 1 September, adopted a minute on the right of conscientious objection to military service. It cites a recent WCC study showing "that in many places churches face challenges of conscientious objection", which allows those whose conscience prohibits them from military service to engage in alternate means of service.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee voted today to hold the 10th WCC Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013. The decision was taken by secret ballot and decided in one round.

“Nature is our home,” said Dr. Maria Sumire Conde from the Quecha community of Peru. She says some of those who have come there, however, have not been good guests.

How does the church interact with a rapidly changing society? On 31 August, members of the World Council of Churches central committee spent much of the morning discussing this question in a pair of plenary sessions in Geneva.

With prayers, singing, gifts and speeches of thanks, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee offered its farewell to outgoing general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia on Sunday 30 August.

World Council of Churches general secretary-elect Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was asked on Friday to outline his vision for the organization. He didn’t have to look far for inspiration.

“Tears are not enough.” Fernando Enns spoke that phrase in introductory remarks to the World Council of Churches central committee on 28 Aug. It was repeated several times during a morning plenary session on the WCC’s upcoming International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC).

Norwegian theologian and pastor Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 48, was elected 7th general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Thursday 27 August during its Central Committee meeting. Tveit will be the youngest general secretary since Willem A. Visser 't Hooft who had led the WCC while it was in process of formation and following its founding assembly 61 years ago.

Central committee members will choose between three potential sites for the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, to be held in 2013: Busan, South Korea; Damascus, Syria; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia sounded notes of hope as he delivered his final address as general secretary to the World Council of Churches central committee on 26 August.

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, in his moderator’s address at the start of the World Council of Churches central committee meeting in Geneva on 26 August, said that the WCC – as well as the world at large – stands “at a crossroads in the present”.

The World Council of Churches' search committee for a general secretary met 23-26 June 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The committee was elected by the Central Committee in February 2008 and led by the moderator, Dr Agnes Abuom.