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Patriarchs and heads of churches of Jerusalem sent Easter greetings to their communities and to Christians around the world, a greeting that celebrates a renewal of hope, restoration and victory over all forms of death and destruction.

Dr Souraya Bechealany is secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches. On 26 March, the WCC and Regional Ecumenical Organizations released a historic joint pastoral statement affirming the urgency of standing together to protect life amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCC has since been gathering viewpoints from diverse regions about the importance of taking care of our one human family.

Bishops from the Church of Sweden have issue a new missive on the climate emergency that combines scientific knowledge with pastoral care, theology and specific appeals.

Observed on 13-20 October, the WCC Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance invites churches around the world again to a Churches’ Week of Action on Food, an opportunity to pray, reflect and take action together, for food justice across the globe.

As Sweden prepares for a visit from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch and Antje Jackelén, archbishop of the Church of Sweden, signed a joint editorial for Swedish media.

“The church is a global network,” reads the joint editorial. “It has a presence around the world that is almost unsurpassed by any other organisation or movement.”

Swedish Archbishop emeritus Anders Wejryd, president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) for Europe, recently attended a ceremony during which Rodrigo Mundaca, who has fought for free access to water in Chile, received the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award. Wejryd shared with WCC Communication some of his thoughts on water justice.

The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Church of Sweden have signed a joint pledge related to climate justice.

The message urges action on the unprecedented negative effects of climate change. “As we observe the Season of Creation, we renew the call for our churches to work together for the sake of Earth and to build collaborations wherever possible, both with other communities of faith and with diverse agents in our civil society,” the text reads. “Now is the time for science, politics, business, culture and religion - everything that is an expression of human dignity - to address together this critical issue for our time.”

In late August, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network participated, for the fourth consecutive year, in World Water Week, held in Stockholm, Sweden. Together with partners, the WCC co-hosted a showcase during which a number of sustainability issues were discussed.

At a well-attended showcase in Stockholm, Sweden, yesterday afternoon, the Ecumenical Water Network took a step further towards achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 by bringing together faith actors with key people from the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector.

On Thursday afternoon, 29 August, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will co-host a Water and Faith showcase during World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. The aim is to further explore scalable faith-based development models in water, sanitation and hygiene; develop a roadmap on effective engagement with faith actors; and to mobilize them to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Church and related organizations’ response to food crises globally may need to be strengthened following the findings of a new report which projects millions of people will be without food due climate change, conflict and insecurity.

Rev. Henrik Grape is the coordinator of the World Council of Churches Working Group on Climate Change.

In a country now counting 100 million inhabitants, and where 2.5 percent are added annually, it is increasingly hard for the government to keep pace with the needs of its people. “In this challenging environment, the work of non-governmental organisations is critical in order to ease the burden on public service institutions”, explains Dr Maged Moussa Yanny, general director of EpiscoCare.

Protecting children from any kind of violence has always been and should remain an essential message of Christianity, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has told a gathering at the World Council of Churches (WCC) for World Children’s Day.

The voices of young people will ring through the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 21 November as part of global celebrations for World Children’s Day linked to other events involving the World Council of Churches (WCC) in different places.

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.

Jesus was a healer, and from his first followers to now, in all ages and regions, Christians have been distinguished by their compassionate, often heroic, work for health and healing.

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.