Search results

During an online morning prayer service on 16 November, Bishop Arnold Temple, chairperson of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network and the president of All Africa Conference of Churches, reflected on World Toilet Day, which will be observed this year on 19 November.

Pacific islands experience lasting impacts of the 50 years of nuclear testing and the region has become a global hotspot of climate change, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) learned in its meeting this week in Brisbane, Australia.

Impacts of the climate change and the lingering health and environmental effects of nuclear testing on the countries in the Pacific region are among the issues to be discussed at the meeting of the WCC’s Commission of Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), convened from 19 to 21 February in Brisbane, Australia.

The Protestant Church of South India’s sustainable environmental education initiative has been nominated for the 2019 UNESCO-Japan Prize.

As a US federal appeals court ordered dismissal of a lawsuit brought by 21 youth plaintiffs against the federal government over the climate crisis, the World Council of Churches (WCC) reiterated its concern about government failure to address climate change and its impacts on the world that children and young people will inherit.

A couple of days of light rain brought some relief to those resisting killer bushfires across southeastern Australia. Still, firefighters, residents and other responders were bracing themselves and preparing for more mayhem.

Participants of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 2019 Eco School in Asia have pledged to serve as “Eco Ambassadors” who will protect our waters, promote food sovereignty, health and wellbeing and stand for climate justice with a sense of urgency.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia, addressed young people attending an Eco-School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, noting that large numbers of people in Asia don’t have access to safe drinking water.

Twenty-seven young people from 11 countries across Asia officially began the World Council of Churches (WCC) Eco-School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The school will run from 4-17 November, exploring water, food, and climate 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.”

At an informal dialogue, faith leaders gathered with representatives from governments, civil society, academia, and the United Nations to talk about financing adaptation, and loss and damage, related to climate change.

In a daylong meeting on 24 September entitled: “Climate Emergency: Faith-based Organizations Raising Ambition - Leaving No One Behind,” representatives from dozens of churches and organizations from across the world gathered to explore their role in stemming climate change and the human suffering it is already causing.

As states gather at the United Nations for the Climate Action Summit, taking place on 23 September, the ACT Alliance, Lutheran World Federation and World Council of Churches, which together represent 580 million Christians globally, are strengthening their collective call for climate justice and immediate action.

In a sermon at Marble Church in New York City on 22 September, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit asked an elemental yet profound question: “Do you love me?”

From New York City to Hamburg, from Oslo to Melbourne, from Nairobi to Mumbai, hundreds of thousands of young people peacefully protested climate change on 20 September - and the World Council of Churches (WCC) walked alongside them.

More than 300 environmentalists - among them professors, students, scientists and religious leaders - gathered for the 5th International Eco Conference organized by the Church of South India.

On 28 June, a World Council of Churches (WCC) intergenerational climate justice project was awarded the Keeling Curve Prize, a recognition for initiatives that offer solutions to reduce global warming. The WCC project supports adolescents engaging in climate justice through church-run schools, Sunday schools, and summer camps. The project stems from Churches’ Commitments to Children, a partnership between the WCC and UNICEF.

Indigenous peoples are not only on the frontline of climate change impacts, they are also uniquely equipped with expertise to help defend ecology. Two groups - the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples’ Networks Reference Group and the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches (WCC) - underscored this idea as they met to discuss the world’s climate emergency. Both are composed of theologians, indigenous persons, scientists and experts on ecology and economy, representing churches from around the world.

During a service of remembrance and celebration in the Ecumenical Centre Chapel on 24 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee commemorated the lives, witness and ministry of Rev. Robina Winbush and Rev. Norman Tendis.

The 56th meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs took place in Bali, Indonesia, on 24 – 28 February, discussing many of the most critical concerns of churches in the region and around the world.