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The current global economic and financial scenario has been described as the “mess we are in” by Sir Richard Jolly at a global conference on a new economic and financial architecture taking place in Brazil this week. He pointed out the lack of good governance in many countries.

Fifteen representatives from churches, ecumenical organizations and other partners from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe and the Pacific came together this week in Crete to assess the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on care for creation and climate justice and to strategize for the future.

“It is not possible to talk about a new financial architecture without linking it to the pain and struggles of the people,” said Rev. Dr Collin I. Cowan at an ecumenical conference on a new financial and economic architecture, currently underway in Brazil.

A framework and criteria for a new financial and economic architecture will be discussed at an ecumenical conference in Brazil this week. These criteria will embrace ethics and justice to address ecological concerns. The debates at the event will highlight the concerns of millions of people affected by the financial crisis.

What are the connections between widespread poverty and ecology? Seventy-five scientists, activists, philosophers and theologians are meeting from 26 to 30 September at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, in Kolympari, Greece, to understand the intertwined dynamics of economic development and environmental sustainability.

Citing the European churches’ “strong commitment over the past century to the ecumenical movement and fellowship in Europe,” WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit urged their direct engagement in the current financial and social crisis in and beyond Europe.

Every year, from 1 September to 4 October, parishes and congregations in various parts of the world consecrate some time to reflect, celebrate and organize activities in relation to creation.

"The WCC can be and still is prophetic today,"€ said the Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, reflecting on highs and lows in the ecumenical movement and on the identity of the WCC.

Joakim Book Jonnson, a salesman for a security company and a member of the Church of Sweden, transformed his urban commuter life when he decided to leave, at least temporarily, no ecological footprint.

Many church and civil society representatives have expressed disappointment over the lack of vision and ambition in the outcomes of the Rio+20 summit, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this June. Yet the affirmation of the human right to water and sanitation is one aspect among others in the results that the future work of the ecumenical movement for sustainability and eco-justice can build on.

By Susan Kim (*)

World Council of Churches (WCC) participants in the Rio+20 Conference have joined a broad religious coalition in rejecting the official outcome document of the United Nations-sponsored event.

On 22 June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Forum on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology concluded with a strong call for action to evolve “transformative congregations” with moral courage to build an “economy of life” that focuses on er adicating poverty, challenging wealth accumulation and safeguarding ecological integrity.

“Institutionalized greed with structural consequences demands counter measures at the structural level, if we are to overcome pressing problems of poverty, socio-economic disparities and ecological destruction,” said Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, former general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been playing an active role in the two major events that are taking place in Rio from 12 to 23 June: the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio+20, and the People’s Summit.

More than one hundred international participants, including representatives of churches and civil society, have gathered in Bogor, Indonesia for the Global Forum on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology. On 19 June, they spoke together about poverty eradication and the concepts of economic and ecological justice lying at the heart of Christian ethics.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit both have pressed for the future sustainability of earth and stronger commitments for ecological justice at Rio+20.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation will take part in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 from 20 to 22 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The delegates will participate in various ecumenical and interfaith events both at the venue of Rio+20 and the Peoples’ Summit for Social and Environmental Justice organized by the civil society.

To address the impact of displacements induced by climate change, participants from ecumenical, non-governmental and international organizations, as well as churches, gathered in Bossey, Switzerland, from 22 to 23 May in a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference.

Inspired by participating in the Youth for Eco-Justice training, a joint project of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Durban, South Africa last year, Kristi Holmberg started a “Climate Justice Campaign” which concluded successfully on 22 April, Earth Day.