Search results

Dr Cecile De Sweemer, who served as staff of the Christian Medical Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 1982 to 1986, died on the 27 November in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). De Sweemer, a Belgian medical doctor with a doctorate in International Health from Johns Hopkins University, with extensive experience in Asia and Africa, was a dedicated and compassionate physician.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), ACT Alliance and the German Protestant development service Bread for the World are appealing to world leaders to take swift and coordinated action to limit global warming to 1.5°C degrees as a humanitarian and ethical obligation.

"The Synod advocates a swift exit from coal-fired power generation (lignite and hard coal), which complies with the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and contributes to achieving the German climate targets as soon as possible”, reads a statement released by the 12th Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), on 14 November.

Dr. Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, offered a speech entitled “A Clarion Christian Call to Justice and Peace: Ending Global Inequality and Climate injustice” at the Justice Conference in Oslo, Norway on 9 November.

Fifty years after its assembly in Uppsala, Sweden, decisively turned to public engagement, the WCC still seeks to engage and address issues of public concern and the common good.

Ten years after the near-collapse of the world’s economy, what has changed? Not much, says the WCC, and certainly not enough.

In its continuing efforts to outlaw nuclear weapons, the WCC has issued public support for French Polynesia’s petition to the UN for redress for ongoing effects of nuclear testing there.

Citing the latest studies from the United Nations, the WCC has sounded the alarm about immediate measures needed to prevent or mitigate the worst damage from climate change.

“We look forward to working closely with you in the fulfillment of people’s hopes and needs worldwide to the glory of the one God”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a message of greeting to Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, elected moderator of the governing board of ACT Alliance, on 31 October, in Uppsala, Sweden.

Before the Community of Sant'Egidio in Bologna, Italy, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke on “Poverty and Inequality in a Time of Climate Change.”

Turtles, both in the Caribbean and elsewhere, are becoming increasingly confused. Their main prey of jelly fish doesn’t taste the same nowadays and is much more difficult to digest. Often, turtles die after having ingested plastic bags they thought were jelly fish.

Thirty years ago, the founders of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women were searching for ways to not only help women across the globe seek justice but also highlight their contributions to churches and the world.

Three weeks have now passed since this year’s edition of the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden was wrapped up and delegates from all over the world headed home, inspired to “float” the issues, as the WCC Ecumenical Water Network chairperson, Bishop Arnold Temple from Sierra Leone, put it.

A group of ecumenical pilgrims started a journey towards the 2018 World Climate Conference hosting city Katowice, in Poland, where high level talks about the preservation of creation will take place. "Go then!" is the motto of the Ecumenical Pilgrimage for Climate Justice that took off in Bonn, Germany, on 9 September.

WCC News spoke to Rev. Henrik Grape, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Justice. He was on his way home after attending an ecumenical gathering in Assisi.

The First Ecumenical Prayer for Creation will take place 31 August and 1 September in Assisi, Italy, the city of Francis. The two-day event is the latest sign of momentum for environmental protection growing among leaders of Christian denominations.

“Water is a gift of God, a gift of creation, and it is necessary for survival,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, introducing through a video message a World Water Week public showcase on “Water and Faith: Acting in Partnership to achieve SDG 6” in Stockholm, Sweden.

On Thursday, 30 August, the World Council of Churches will co-organize a showcase at the World Water Week in Stockholm in partnership with Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) Global Water partnership (GWP), Church of Sweden, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Swedish Institute Alexandria (SIA), where high level faith leaders and water management experts will gather to share wisdom and perspectives on one of today’s most urgent environmental issues: How to ensure access to safe drinking water resources throughout the world.

Trons roll för en långsiktigt hållbar resursanvändning sätts i fokus under World Water Week i Stockholm nästa vecka. På torsdag, den 30 augusti, bjuder Kyrkornas Världsråd in till ett öppet seminarium i partnerskap tillsammans med Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) Global Water partnership (GWP), Svenska kyrkan, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) och Svenska institutet i Alexandria (SIA). Religiösa ledare och internationell expertis samlas för att delge kunskaper och perspektiv på en av vår tids mest akuta utmaningar: Hur säkerställer vi global tillgång till rent dricksvatten?

A “Water and Faith” day will be held on 30 August in Stockholm, Sweden, offering many opportunities to explore how faith-based groups can act in partnership with the public and private sectors to achieve water justice for all people.