Search results

The ecumenical staff gathered with people from Zimbabwe and Botswana on 14 June for a morning prayer and song that focused on the church as a place of refuge and trust.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), with an open letter and prayer, shared its hopes for peace on the eve of the first summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents, which will take place in Geneva on 16 June.

A third and final webinar on moral discernment, scheduled for 15 June, will present the new study document approved by the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission earlier this year.

In recent times, churches face tensions with regard to ethical questions. This is of course not new. History testifies to how in the history of Christianity disputes over moral questions caused changes, leading at times to division, whereas at other times such divisions could be prevented.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order is initiating a new webinar series to discuss responses to its second convergence document “The Church: Towards a Common Vision,” published in 2013.

A collection of documents and publications from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is now available through its longstanding partner organization Globethics.net. The WCC collection, updated weekly, reflects a growing and longstanding electronic bridge between the organizations’ websites.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Communication has published new internal guidelines to ensure inclusive and accessible communication. In the recent past, WCC communication has been stepping up efforts to have a more inclusive and accessible communication. One example is that the development of the new WCC website took into consideration accessibility needs of persons with disabilities. Another example: the WCC has been testing sign language interpreta-tion in webinars. In 2021, the communication team explored even more ways to ensure our communication work is inclusive and maintains high accessibility as we prepare for the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe—and beyond. All this necessitated the need to have guidelines for inclusive and accessible communication.    

A webinar scheduled for 27 May and entitled “Change in Moral Teaching – Exploring Continuity and Discontinuity,” will examine concrete historic examples where churches have modified or changed their understanding of a specific moral issue.

In the midst of one of the worst public health crises in the world, Christians in Brazil are upholding their tradition of celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the lead up to Pentecost. For the second year, they will be gathering in prayer without physical gatherings though. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has made available the collection of global prayers “Voices of Lament, Hope and Courage” in French, German and Spanish, in addition to the English version published in March for a Week of Prayer in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Persons with disabilities as well as other persons in the community see the church as a pillar of support to their complete wellbeing,” said Anderson Gitonga, executive director of United Disabled Persons of Kenya at a virtual dialogue, held 5 May, on promoting mental wellness of persons with disabilities in Kenya during and beyond COVID-19. “There is need for the church to explore further ways to build communities of support within communities to promote mental wellness of persons with disabilities during COVID-19.”

A webinar on how churches make moral decisions—and what causes divisions—brought a lively discussion attended online by more than 100 people on 29 April.

Basing their remarks on a World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission publication, “Churches and Moral Discernment. Volume 1: Learning from Traditions,” the speakers shared insights from very different church perspectives.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) webinar, “Moral discernment – What can we learn from other traditions?” will take place on 29 April, based on the Faith and Order Commission publication “Churches and Moral Discernment. Volume 1: Learning from Traditions.”

In preserving and restoring unity, churches are increasingly confronted with moral questions. The World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission has studied this topic and recently presented a new study document called “Churches and Moral Discernment: Facilitating Dialogue to Build Koinonia.” In a series of three webinars, the commission will introduce the document and two other publications that assist in learning from and with each other about discerning ethical questions in the churches.