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The World Council of Churches (WCC), with an open letter and prayer, shared its hopes for peace on the eve of the first summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents, which will take place in Geneva on 16 June.

A World Council of Churches Pilgrim Team will be visiting indigenous communities on Standing Rock, particularly along the shore of the Missouri River (Lake Oahe), with portions of visits open to the public online on 25-28 May.

A special prayer service for those who work at the US Capitol offered an online space on 15 January in which to reflect, lament and hope for transformation in a troubled nation.

Throughout 2020, the World Council of Churches (WCC), together with the National Council of Churches in Korea, has been observing a Global Prayer Campaign,“We Pray, Peace Now, End the War.” As part of the campaign, the WCC is sharing personal stories and interviews that inspire others to work for peace. The story below features the perspective of U.S. war veterans, all of whom are also featured in video interviews.

A Joint Ecumenical Peace Message for the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War was publicly delivered on 22 June during a live-streamed event. Co-sponsored by churches and councils of churches around the world, especially from countries that participated in the Korean War, the message describes the Korean War as an “appallingly destructive conflict” after which no peace treaty was ever concluded.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) condemned an attack on a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi´s home north of New York City, on 28 December, stabbing and wounding five people. Several state and local officials have described the location of stabbing as a synagogue.

Faith leaders across the USA released on 9 July a jointly signed statement entitled “Back from the Brink: Faith leaders call for diplomacy, not war, with Iran.”

In an opening address at a Forum on Modern Slavery in Istanbul on 7 January, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke on “Awareness, Action and Impact.” After many centuries of progress and advancement, we still live in a world where injustice and slavery continue to thrive, and where human dignity is exchanged for the sole purpose of greed, gain, and profit, reflected Bartholomew.

Respect for the other lies at the heart of peace education and was a key thread through a debate entitled “Education for Peace in a multi-religious world”. It was held on the 2018 World Human Rights Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

As a result of a consultation on 9-10 November in Washington, D.C., Pan African Women of Faith have released a Call to Action toward a vision of sustainable communities and an end to hunger and poverty.

A Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula convened in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) on 8-12 November, building on decades of progress by the Korean Methodist Church, United Methodist Church, and World Methodist Council, as well the Korean Christian Federation and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

On 19 April, the World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed recent initiatives to establish meaningful and constructive dialogue between the United States of America and North Korea.

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson has a unique position in observing and advocating for women’s rights or, as she would quickly clarify, “the fair treatment of human beings” no matter what their gender. As bishop-in-residence at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, she ministers to church members who were not only present at this week’s Golden Globe Awards – they were the nominees. And, as vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, she is part of a global parish, traveling to communities far removed from the privilege of Hollywood, where violence occurs against women who are seen by their own communities as having no voice and no rights.

The World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA grieve with the families of those who lost their lives in the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the night of October 1, 2017. We pray for those whose lives have been shattered by this senseless act and lift up those who will be recovering years to come.

At a “Hearing on Racism, Discrimination, Afrophobia and Xenophobia” held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 25 September, speakers reflected, lamented and, at times, simply sat in silence as they considered the experience of people of African descent in the USA.

On Saturday in Charlottesville, one woman died and 19 others were injured when a man who, after rallying with white supremacist groups, rammed his car into a crowd. Earlier in the day, two law enforcement officers lost their lives when their helicopter crashed as they patrolled the building crowds.

As the recent developments of nuclear weapons and increased tensions between United States and North Korea leaders can bring the world to the brink of war, churches around the world are calling for bilateral dialogue, expressing their commitment to peace and nonviolent resolution.

Friday evening when the leaders of the G20 states will be meeting in Hamburg and discussing global economic, social, environmental and political issues, the churches in Germany are inviting people in Germany and all over the world to a common peace prayer.