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How and in which ways are money and finance shaping the world economy and society? What ought to be the roles of money and finance and what can we do together as faith communities to make the prevailing international financial architecture more just and compassionate?

A consultation on the theme “En-Gendering Justice: Christians in Conversation with Buddhists on Religion, Gender, Sexuality and Power” explored the relationship between religion and gender from an interreligious perspective.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed concern and grief over the destruction caused by the cyclone in Vanuatu. In a letter issued to the WCC member churches in Vanuatu and the Pacific region, Tveit offered his prayers for the people and churches.

After a concerted examination of the evidence presented at the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons and two earlier conferences, 44 of the states present called for a ban on nuclear weapons. The host government Austria added momentum with a specific, cooperative pledge to “fill the legal gap for the prohibition of nuclear weapons” and eliminate them.

Participants in a recent WCC consultation in Myanmar have stressed the need to equip churches and ecumenical organizations to build peace, human security and human dignity in order to move beyond conflicts, towards a world of peace.

Indigenous peoples have a role to play in the struggle against climate change, indigenous faith leaders said during a panel at the Interfaith Summit on Climate Change held at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City.

To raise awareness of the impact of climate change, representatives of churches, ecumenical organizations and the United Nations stood together in the sea in Apia, Samoa, in prayerful solidarity with those vulnerable to rising sea-levels and extreme weather events.

As young people help to facilitate the meeting of the WCC's governing body, they are pursuing a collective pilgrimage of their own.

The WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, offered condolences on the death of Fr Siketi Tonga, general secretary of the Tonga National Council of Churches. A priest with the Anglican Church, Tonga passed away last week and was laid to rest in Nuku’alofa on Saturday, 12 April.

Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu, president of the Methodist Church in Fiji, who passed away on 11 February, was remembered by the WCC with a moment of “prayerful silence” at its WCC Executive Committee meeting currently underway in Switzerland.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches elected eight new presidents today during a closed session at its proceedings in Busan, Republic of Korea.

The WCC general secretary has expressed “great sadness” over the death of Rev. Dr Prakai Nontawasee, former member of the WCC Central Committee and the Commission on Faith and Order in the 1970s and 1980s.

In Tahiti, an ecumenical delegation was told about the need for re-inscription of French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the United Nations list of countries to be decolonized.

The international tug-of-war over carbon emission thresholds and other instruments meant to limit the deterioration of the earth's climate has caused a big stir in recent months, but yielded little results. Therefore the international community must now get ready to take care of those who will be forced from their homes by climate change.

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.