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Menno Simons Sermon Award winner: “good storytelling should always reflect hope”

Pastor Joachim Leberecht, from Herzogenrath/Germany, has won the international Menno Simons Sermon Award from the Center for Peace Church Theology (University of Hamburg) together with the Mennonite congregation Hamburg-Altona.

04 May 2023

Interview

Conference of European Churches looks ahead to assembly as “opportunity for churches to express themselves”

Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, reflects on hopes for the upcoming assembly Tallinn in June, as well as on the role churches play amid the conflict in Ukraine.

28 April 2023

Interview

Rev. Nathan Day Wilson, WCC liaison to specialized ministries

“Working Together” meeting will strengthen bonds between WCC, specialized ministries

An annual "Working Together” meeting, to be held 3-4 May at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, will draw together WCC staff with representatives from specialized ministries. Below, Rev. Nathan Day Wilson, WCC liaison to specialized ministries, reflects on why the meeting is important, particularly in the post-WCC 11th Assembly period.

28 April 2023

Interview

All Africa Conference of Churches sets sights on growth, harmony, and praying for peace

Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, reflects below on the biggest challenges facing churches in Africa, and hopes for the future.

27 April 2023

Interview

Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame elected to chair UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame was elected to chair the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She is also a commissioner for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, as well as an active member of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network.

24 April 2023

Publication

Introducing the World Council of Churches

Brochure introducing the World Council of Churches, April 2023

21 April 2023

Interview

Visiting communities in southern Türkiye from 4-6 April 2023, the delegation met with churches in Mersin, Iskenderun, and Antioch, including communities in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, Latin Catholics and others.

During solidarity visit to Türkiye, WCC and ACT Alliance witness great needs yet great collaboration: “the churches are all working together”

After returning from a solidarity visit to Türkiye, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria appear in a video interview speaking about what they saw, how churches are working together, and their unique reflections on their visit—held 4-6 April—took place during western Holy Week.

13 April 2023

Publication

The Future of Mission Cooperation

The Living Legacy of the International Missionary Council

This book is a must for academics, pastors, or mission practitioners interested in how Christianity expanded in the 20th century through mission work, how this has transformed into World (or Global) Christianity, and what mission looks like in the 2020s and beyond.

The first part answers two questions through nine regional reports. These reports came from an international study process led by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches for the centenary of the commission’s predecessor, the International Missionary Council, focussing on two questions: What is the understanding of Christians in the Global South mission in today’s world in crisis, and what will it be in the years to come? What hope can the good news of Jesus Christ give to those who are most vulnerable and often wounded through conditions that threaten their existence?

The second part of the book contains five studies of transnational mission networks. Transnational mission networks offer a huge potential for churches and mission actors in their work in a world that is facing many unexpected and overwhelming challenges. How can these networks foster mission, justice, reconciliation, and unity?

24 March 2023

Publication

Enemy, Stranger, Neighbour, & Friend

Rough Guide On Religion and Othering

WCC supported this publication “by and for young scholars, activists, and development workers engaged in peacebuilding and the cultivation of social resilience.”

23 March 2023

Interview

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata: “God summons us to take action that is hope giving”

Below, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Public Witness and Diakonia, reflects on the relevance of ecumenical diakonia and public witness today.

16 March 2023

Interview

Prof. Jace Pillay reflects on importance of churches in upholding children’s rights

Prof. Jace Pillay, South African research chair for Education and Care in Childhood at the University of Johannesburg, reflected on the importance of churches in ensuring the rights of children.

Twin brother of World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, Jace Pillay noted that South Africa has very good policies with regard to children’s rights —but in many areas those policies exist only on paper, as they are not implemented.

14 March 2023

Interview

On International Women’s Day, award-winning church sign language interpreter urges space for deaf women

At the St Andrew’s Presbyterian of Church East Africa in Nairobi, Judy Kihumba is the voice between the hearing and the deaf worlds in one of Kenya’s oldest churches.

08 March 2023

Interview

Rev. Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba: “First and foremost, mission is God’s mission”

Rev. Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba, World Council of Churches programme director for Unity and Mission, reflects below on mission, theology, and the making of a better world.

23 February 2023

Interview

Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay in the chapel

Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay upon his installation as WCC general secretary: “God has saved me for this moment”

As Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay was installed as the ninth general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), he reflected on how much the day means to him, and he sought prayers from the worldwide fellowship and from all people of good will as he continues his work.

17 February 2023

Interview

In interview, Greek Orthodox H.E. Ephraim Maalouli describes how churches are responding to earthquake-related needs in Syria

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey, the Middle East Council of Churches in Syria interviewed H.E. Ephraim Maalouli, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Alexandretta, and Dependencies.

16 February 2023

Media advisory

Invitation to media

With this media invitation, it is our joy to invite you to attend the installation of Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as the 9th general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) during the afternoon of Friday, 17 February 2023.

14 February 2023

Interview

Ecumenical theology at chapel, classroom, and office: Odair Pedroso Mateus reflects on serving the WCC

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus began to teach at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in 2004 and joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2007. Most recently he served as WCC interim deputy general secretary and Faith and Order director. Below, he reflects on his fondest memories, accomplishments, and hopes.

08 February 2023

Interview

Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay: “I believe God calls us to serve God’s purpose in the world”

Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, the new general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), reflects on the challenges 2023 may bring, how he will relate to WCC member churches, how he plans to include and inspire youth in the ecumenical movement, and what prophetic leadership means to him.

02 February 2023

Publication

Black and orange booklet cover with an AIDS ribbon

HIV and AIDS Civil Society Networks and the Faith Sector

Lessons Learnt from Strategic Engagement in India, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Jamaica

This booklet highlights the lessons learnt in a project, Strategic Engagement of Civil Society Networks and Faith Actors in the HIV Response in Four Countries, implemented by the World Council of Churches (WCC), with the support of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), from July to December 2022

This initiative facilitated dialogue between civil society networks, faith actors, and key national HIV stakeholders in the Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, and Jamaica.

31 January 2023

Interview

Calling for Christian Unity requires “both a prophetic and pastoral approach”

Rev. Dr Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, helped convene the team of authors for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials. Below, he reflects on the challenges and hopes the team brought to the table as they composed the text.

18 January 2023