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The first ever action plan specifically designed to enable religious leaders to prevent incitement to violence - the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes - was launched on 14 July by Secretary-General António Guterres at a meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Around 60 participants from Christian churches all over the world gathered in Beit Sahour for peace consultations two weeks ago.

Banning nuclear weapons is something like climbing a mountain. The summit of this mountain – agreement on a ban treaty – is now clearly in view at United Nations negotiations in New York.

Some 40 participants, coming mainly from Latin American countries, attended a consultation promoted by the WCC entitled “Together Towards Life: Mission in the 21st Century”, from 30 April – 4 May, in Rosario, Argentina.

Expressing concern regarding recently announced US measures related to refugee admissions and entry into the US by seven Muslim-majority countries, the World Council of Churches (WCC), ACT Alliance (ACT), and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) affirmed that faith calls all Christians to love and welcome the stranger, the refugee, the internally displaced person - “the other.”

The General Board of Global Ministries, a mission agency of The United Methodist Church, hosted representatives from the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism this week for a meeting to plan a World Mission Conference scheduled for March 2018.

Many voices have joined the chorus demanding respect for indigenous peoples’ rights and eco-justice in connection with Standing Rock, a location at the heart of the struggle against the proposed path of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North Dakota, USA.

WASHINGTON, DC: At 12:30 pm ET Wednesday, September 14, 2016, General Secretaries Jim Winkler (National Council of Churches, USA) and Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit (World Council of Churches) will issue a statement summarizing the work of this week's groundbreaking consultation between Christian leaders, humanitarian organizations, and human rights organizations on disturbing new developments in the Holy Land.

As wars and conflict continue to force thousands of families to flee their homes every day, the WCC appeals to all people of good will to support the UNHCR’s #WithRefugees campaign. By signing a petition to be handed over to the UN headquarters before the General Assembly meeting on 19 September, people around the globe are asked to raise their voices, to ensure that every refugee child gets an education, that every refugee family has somewhere safe to live, and that every refugee can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their community.

The WCC offered prayers for peace in the USA while condemning acts of violence in recent days that have shocked the nation and people around the world.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), at its meeting in Trondheim, Norway, 27 June 2016, has elected a new executive committee with 11 new members.

Encouragement, inspiration and storytelling animated the plenary discussion of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

Knut Refsdal started his pilgrimage from the Norwegian capital Oslo to the historic pilgrim town of Trondheim on 24 May. He is scheduled to arrive on the eve of the opening of the meeting of the WCC Central Committee on 21 June.

Forty years after the Soweto uprising, leaders of churches in conflict-torn countries gathered in South Africa to study the ways of peace and reconciliation.

You disgust me. - “We value you despite our differences.” I’m scared of you. - “Let’s spend some time together.” Your children cannot come to this school. - “All of our children can play together.” Gathered in prayer and determined to overcome stigma and discrimination, participants in a 7 June interfaith service replaced words of rejection with words of acceptance.

“We had heard that racism continues to be an issue in the United States,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee. “But we did not expect to find it so deep, so wide and so pervasive.”

Leaders from churches in the Holy Land met with the heads of faith-based organizations and churches in Atlanta, Georgia (United States) on 19-20 April for a summit that explored the role of US churches in peacemaking in the Middle East.

In the Washington DC region on 18 April, Jim Winkler, general secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, welcomed a contingent from the WCC who, with others, will be spending 18-25 April on a WCC-sponsored racial justice listening and support visit to several US communities which have suffered violent incidents related to race.

“Racism remains an issue that divides society and even families,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in a Washington DC workshop on “the theological basis for lifting the voice of the marginalized.” She noted that these dramatically relevant words were not her own, but are drawn from a WCC study on race undertaken in the 1990s.

The Racial Justice Accompaniment Visit to the USA is a continuation of the WCC’s long history of racial justice work. As part of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, the WCC wishes to listen to and express support for people and churches in the USA, and to encourage the efforts of member churches and ecumenical partners in the US, as well as other justice-seeking movements on these issues.