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World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended condolences to the churches and people of Qaraqosh, Iraq, after a wedding celebration was struck with a fire that killed 94 people and injured 100 more.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay offered a keynote address at the Christian Conference of Asia assembly, being held in India from 27 September to 4 October.

This week, 500 participants from all over Asia gather in Kottayam, India, to evaluate the last eight years of ecumenical work and look to challenges ahead, such as the impact of youth migration. Under the theme "God, renew us in your spirit and restore the creation", the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) holds its 15th General assembly.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will travel to India from 26 September to 3 October in conjunction with the 15th General Assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia, and for visits with WCC member churches.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome a “Bethlehem Reborn – Palestine – The Wonders of the Nativity” exhibit that will open in a live-streamed ceremony on 12 September, then be available to the public from 13 September-5 October daily. The multimedia touring exhibit highlights the rehabilitation of the Church of the Nativity in all its artistic beauty, historical significance, and spiritual messages. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is among signatories on a joint letter to H.E. Sri Narendra Modi—prime minister of the Republic of India and chair of the Group of Twenty (G20)—which urges G20 leaders to adopt a New International Financial and Economic Architecture.

Human rights violations in Israel and Palestine have nearly tripled during the past year, according to reports from the most recent set of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

Iranian rector Ayatollah M. Seyyed Abolhassan Nawab and Ms Zahra Sedigh, from the Iranian Mission to the UN, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 27 July, discussing education and formation, as well as the importance of strengthening the role of interreligious cooperation.  

Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, Mission of Palestine to Switzerland; Ambassador Dr Omar Awadallah,  assistant minister for United Nations and Specialized Organizations;  and Doa Nofal, second secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 6 July to discuss the current situation in Palestine.

Resources—including reflections, prayers, and more—are now available to help churches and all people of good will to observe the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel from 16-23 September 2023.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay called for an end to the Israeli military’s assault in Jenin.  The WCC condemns the assault and calls for the cessation of all violence in the West Bank including that from Israeli settlers.

The WCC central committee expressed continuous concern about two significant territorial crises in the eastern Mediterranean: those within Palestine and Israel, and those within Cyprus. “These politically driven conflicts have resulted in illegal occupations that have spanned decades,” reads a minute released by the governing body.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee released a statement on the human rights situation in the Philippines.

The situation for people in Myanmar—including more than one million ethnic Rohingyas—is increasingly concerning, as expressed in the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee minute. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed concern over a violent protest by rightwing Jewish activists against an Evangelical Christian event in Jerusalem on 28 May.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared joyful congratulations with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who was installed as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

During the 75th commemoration of what Palestinians refer to as the nakba, or “catastrophe”—when hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted during Israel's creation in 1948—World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with member churches in the Holy Land.

During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.