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Continuing with a long-time commitment of the WCC, a recent statement issued by Council’s chief governing body reaffirms churches’ “solidarity with those working for peace with justice in Palestine and Israel”. The statement encourages churches to make responsible decisions regarding their investments which have an impact on the current situation in the region.

Attacks by the Israeli military on the civilian population in Gaza, as well as firing of rockets by militants from Gaza to Israel, were strongly condemned by the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.

When Dr Ulysses Burley III visited Palestine and Israel six months ago, he came away with an even stronger determination to work for social justice, wherever and however he can.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed deep sorrow over the killing of three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were recovered on 30 June, Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrah. “We pray for their families, all their friends and the extended community that grieves their loss,” he said in a pastoral letter issued on 1 July.

“The Palestinian people thirst for water justice.” So claims a recently issued statement by a fact-finding group that this month visited Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza to better understand the critical issues of water and sanitation in Palestine.

Church leaders meet in Armenia to address the ongoing violence and human calamity in Syria and challenges for faith communities in the crisis there.

Bishop Munib Younan will participate in an inter-religious service of prayer for peace to be held at the Vatican on Pentecost Sunday 8 June.

An urgent call for protection of human rights, peace and security in the Middle East and South Sudan was recently issued by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA at its first Christian Unity Gathering from 18 to 20 May in Washington, D.C.

The weekend meeting of Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople holds significance for global churches and the ecumenical movement beyond the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

After bombings on 21 May in the northern Nigerian city of Jos, in which more than one-hundred people have been killed, “heart-felt sorrow and condolences” have been expressed in a joint statement by the WCC general secretary and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan.

A reflection on the recent United Nations meeting on the Non-Proliferation Treaty, by Jonathan Frerichs, WCC programme executive for peace building and disarmament, and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church have marked the 99th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide with calls for recognition of that historic event. Beginning in April 1915, more than one million Armenians were killed by troops of the Ottoman Empire, a world power with its capital in what is now the Republic of Turkey.

Observing Palestinian Prisoners’ Day on 17 April, the WCC general secretary expressed solidarity with some 5000 Palestinian men, women and children, languishing in Israeli jails.

APRODEV and CIDSE, two church-related organizations, have condemned in a recent statement the forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank, which they say is “uprooting any chance of a just peace”.

In his Easter reflections, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit called this year an “opportunity for shared testimony to the Resurrection” since churches from both eastern and western traditions of Christianity will celebrate Easter on the same day, Sunday 20 April.

A communiqué adopted at a WCC consultation describes human trafficking as a “serious human rights violation” and its consequences are “most horrific results of the economic and social disparities that increase the vulnerability of millions of people”.

The WCC general secretary has expressed deep worry over a court decision in Egypt, where 529 people have been sentenced to death in one of the largest trials in the history of the country.

APRODEV, an association of European development agencies related to the World Council of Churches, has urged the European Union to develop a long-term strategy to reconnect Gaza to the West Bank.

Joining his voice to those of the churches in Palestine and Israel, the WCC general secretary has expressed “grave concern” about a law recently passed by the Israeli parliament.