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A World Council of Churches (WCC) Easter Initiative will lift up the call to roll away the heavy stone of violence, war and occupation, pain and suffering, and to remind the world of what is needed to bring about peace, to transform swords into ploughshares.

People from around the world involved in the work of three critical World Council of Churches (WCC) commissions have discussed global geopolitical trends impacting their activities and church members. The panel, led by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, was moderated by Dr Mathews George Chunakara, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia.

Three World Council of Churches (WCC) commissions—the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, Commission on Health and Healing, and Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development—are jointly meeting from 5-8 March in Geneva to explore the theme "Faith and Effective Witness and Diakonia in the 21st Century.”

Remembrance Day, observed 1 March, is a national holiday in the Marshall Islands that honors victims and survivors of nuclear testing done in the area in the 1950s.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office Advisory Group convened on 20 February under the leadership of WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay lamented the destruction of so many lives and called for an immediate end to the conflict.

The World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance, on 4 March, will host a 90-minute discussion on humanitarian needs. The purpose will be to hear and discuss the views of faith-based organisations on what constitutes “humanitarian need” and how best to prioritize between different needs and contexts.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay on 20 February, to discuss the current situation in Israel and Palestine, and the war in Gaza. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and delegation met with Sheikh Azzam Khatib, director of Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem on 18 February, reiterating the WCC’s commitment to maintaining Jerusalem as a city of all three Abrahamic religions. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank, on 19 February, urging an end to the “seemingly endless cycle of violence and suffering.” 

Member churches, religious leaders and local Christian groups in Palestine and Israel—as well as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli president Isaac Herzog—will meet with World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as he visits the area beginning 16 February. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), on 12 February, submitted comments to the zero draft of the “Pact for the Future,” the envisaged outcome of the UN Summit for the Future.

On the 2024 International Day of Human Fraternity, observed 5 February, special events—including the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity—focused on bridging divides and promoting a culture of peace. 

During a visit to Angola held 21-28 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff met with local church and community leaders to discuss how preventing obstetric fistula is a matter of human rights.

Six ecumenical accompaniers have returned to Palestine and Israel, resuming in-person operations for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. Ecumenical accompaniers, who were evacuated beginning of October 2023, had been continuing their support and accompaniment online.