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A framework and criteria for a new financial and economic architecture will be discussed at an ecumenical conference in Brazil this week. These criteria will embrace ethics and justice to address ecological concerns. The debates at the event will highlight the concerns of millions of people affected by the financial crisis.

What are the connections between widespread poverty and ecology? Seventy-five scientists, activists, philosophers and theologians are meeting from 26 to 30 September at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, in Kolympari, Greece, to understand the intertwined dynamics of economic development and environmental sustainability.

By Marcelo Schneider (*)

Every year, from 1 September to 4 October, parishes and congregations in various parts of the world consecrate some time to reflect, celebrate and organize activities in relation to creation.

"The WCC can be and still is prophetic today,"€ said the Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, reflecting on highs and lows in the ecumenical movement and on the identity of the WCC.

Renowned Christian leader and World Council of Churches (WCC) president Abune Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, passed away Thursday, 16 August, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Joakim Book Jonnson, a salesman for a security company and a member of the Church of Sweden, transformed his urban commuter life when he decided to leave, at least temporarily, no ecological footprint.

At the recent International AIDS Conference, ecumenical participants focused on the need to intensify churches’ efforts to support women trapped in societies marred with sexual and gender-based violence. There was also an emphasis on reducing stigma attached to HIV in communities.

Many church and civil society representatives have expressed disappointment over the lack of vision and ambition in the outcomes of the Rio+20 summit, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this June. Yet the affirmation of the human right to water and sanitation is one aspect among others in the results that the future work of the ecumenical movement for sustainability and eco-justice can build on.

By Susan Kim (*)

Calle Almedal from Sweden has worked on issues of HIV since 1982. He is a former consultant for the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA), a project of the World Council of Churches. In an interview he speaks about HIV's impact on communities, the importance of education in sexual health and churches' responses to HIV.

World Council of Churches (WCC) participants in the Rio+20 Conference have joined a broad religious coalition in rejecting the official outcome document of the United Nations-sponsored event.

On 22 June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Forum on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology concluded with a strong call for action to evolve “transformative congregations” with moral courage to build an “economy of life” that focuses on er adicating poverty, challenging wealth accumulation and safeguarding ecological integrity.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been playing an active role in the two major events that are taking place in Rio from 12 to 23 June: the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio+20, and the People’s Summit.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit both have pressed for the future sustainability of earth and stronger commitments for ecological justice at Rio+20.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation will take part in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 from 20 to 22 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The delegates will participate in various ecumenical and interfaith events both at the venue of Rio+20 and the Peoples’ Summit for Social and Environmental Justice organized by the civil society.

Bishop Moses Deng-Bol of Wau Diocese of the Episcopal Church in South Sudan, believes in a church that encourages forgiveness, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. In a recent interview he shared how churches in his country are trying to address issues presented by the HIV pandemic.

To address the impact of displacements induced by climate change, participants from ecumenical, non-governmental and international organizations, as well as churches, gathered in Bossey, Switzerland, from 22 to 23 May in a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference.

Inspired by participating in the Youth for Eco-Justice training, a joint project of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Durban, South Africa last year, Kristi Holmberg started a “Climate Justice Campaign” which concluded successfully on 22 April, Earth Day.

Climate justice and the integrity of creation have been of concern to churches around the world. While stakeholders in the debate on climate change will gather at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 this year in June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) hopes for discussions to go beyond the narrow understandings of a green economy and the international framework for sustainable development.