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.

Adv Rajendra Sail, a noted human rights activist and ecumenist from India, passed away on 26 January, at age 72. Sail stood out from the Christian community for his deeper engagements on human rights issues and bold steps in questioning the government on its failures to adhere to the principles of democracy and secular commitment.

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.

World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) coordinator Dinesh Suna attended the International Sanitation Convention from 29 September - 2 October in India. Suna shared his reflections on the conference, the role of EWN, and the future of sanitation and how it affects justice in the lives of millions of people.

In 2018 we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the WCC. In order to create a lively first-hand account of the ecumenical fellowship and of our shared journey, the WCC general secretary has invited all member churches to contribute stories, which we will bring to you throughout the coming year. The first story in our series was written by Gerard Willemsen, international director of the Uniting Church in Sweden.

The Church of South India, Green Anglicans and other groups are sharing creative ways to observe a “carbon fast" during the Lenten season. A carbon fast challenges people to examine their daily actions and reflect on how they impact the environment. The carbon fast campaigns are designed so that, over Lent, people can take small steps to reduce carbon dioxide output with the hope of helping the environment and bringing the world one step closer to a sustainable existence.

Between 7-27 March, more than 100 images with the hash tag #7Weeks4Water were posted by Instagram users who joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) contest. Most of them told stories about water justice, illustrating the Lenten campaign “Seven Weeks for Water,” promoted by the WCC Ecumenical Water Network annually since 2008.

Climate-induced loss and damage is one of the key points being raised by faith groups during COP21. A discussion panel and a demonstration held at COP21 in early December brought to light many facets of this issue.

Some 200 people from Japanese churches and minority right networks as well as overseas partners, gathered for an international conference on minority issues and mission at the Korean YMCA in Tokyo.

Participants in a recent WCC consultation in Myanmar have stressed the need to equip churches and ecumenical organizations to build peace, human security and human dignity in order to move beyond conflicts, towards a world of peace.

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.

A group of activists from Manipur, India, visited the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 26 March, sharing accounts of human rights violations in their region and efforts to lobby against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act at the 25th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Member churches of the WCC in India have expressed deep concern over discrimination faced by Christian and Muslim Dalit communities there, demanding protection of the right to freedom of religion in a meeting with Prof. Dr Heiner Bielefeldt, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

The National Council of Churches in India has taken a firm stand against casteism and caste discrimination in India. The NCCI Commission on Dalits is exhibiting materials about its campaign “Solidarity with Dalits for Justice and Dignity” in the Madang Hall at the WCC 10th Assembly. The NCCI Commission on Dalits has also created a unique way of raising awareness about casteism.

Church representatives at a recent Oikotree Global Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa stressed the need to support peoples'€™ movements promoting justice in the economy and ecology, a concern, they say, that lies at the heart of the faith.

Drawing on the Indian churches' experience, churches around the world are celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with a particular focus on justice as integral to the unity they seek.