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In a nation marked by decades of alarming numbers of internal displacement and confinement mainly affecting Indigenous and Afro-Colombians, the walk toward peace is complicated—but the World Council of Churches (WCC) is deepening collaboration on Colombia’s vision for total peace.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) supports a UN resolution, passed on 12 December 2023, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. 

Religious leaders participated in a candlelight ceremony at the Global Refugee Forum on 14 December, bringing a spiritual touch to the world’s largest international gathering on refugees, which is taking place from 13-15 December in Geneva.

Applications are open for the 2024 Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics, and Management Economy of Life, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya TBC, 19-30 August 2024.

Though COP28 failed to produce a credible plan to phase out fossil fuels, there is still reason for hope that the world can move toward climate justice, said World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as COP28 concluded.

As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism on Gender Based Violence, religious leaders, human rights activists, and development partners in Tanzania joined on 5 December to discuss the human rights of girls and women, including those with disabilities, in a forum titled “Wealth of Knowledge and a Wealth of Care.”

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed an assembly of religious leaders gathered at the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Centre on 12 December—the day before the opening of the Global Refugee Forum. 

During a consultation entitled “Papuan People Speak Up,” held 10-12 December, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs Peter Prove offered a message celebrating this show of unity in a time of division. 

In a message to the Global Refugee Forum released 12 December, faith-based leaders underscored their commitment to offering sanctuary for refugees as well defending their human rights. 

During an inter-religious ceremony, refugees, religious leaders, and UN Refugee Agency representatives gathered on 12 December in the Ecumenical Centre chapel to pray, sing, and listen deeply to one another. Titled “This is My Story, This is My History,” the ceremony offered prayers from various traditions including Buddhist, Jewish, Bahá’í, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian.

A COP28 side event on 10 December, entitled “Faith communities have a moral imperative to address Water-food-climate Justice,” reimagined a world in which climate action policies help create a habitable world for all.

On 9 December, during a COP28 side event titled "Faith communities & resilient frontliners responding to the nexus of food-water-climate change,” 12-year-old Faith Sebwa had a clear message to the world. 

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Colombia, conveying a message of the WCC’s commitment to accompanying and supporting the nation’s peace processes.

On 10 December, Blue Communities across the world—including the World Council of Churches (WCC)—are urging all levels of government to protect water resources from financial markets and corporate interests. 

Faith communities have delivered a statement to COP28, expressing their alarm over the over the accelerating climate emergency, and calling for phasing out fossil fuels. 

A workshop being held 11-14 December is engaging young church leaders in preventing gender inequities and advocating for gender justice in social media and other online spaces. 

A new publication, “Towards a Global Vision of the Church, Volume II,” will be released during a webinar on 14 December hosted by the World Council of Churches Commission on Faith and Order. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in collaboration with the Anglican Consultative Council, South African Faith Communities Environment Institute, and the Episcopal Church in the USA, hosted a COP28 side event on 6 December. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay commemorated the legacy of Nelson Mandela on 8 December at a piano concert for peace.

The World Council of Churches executive committee met online on 8 December to continue work on the Green Village property development project, particularly the Lima building, which will house the offices the WCC will rent to sister organizations and tenants.