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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. 

Twenty-four students and seven teachers from the Focolare Movement joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) for Ash Wednesday prayer services, and for an introduction to the ecumenical movement. 

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. 

The tenth rendition of the Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs was held on 23 January in New York City, drawing more than 700 registered followers online;

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay opened the 10th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs on 23 January in New York City, with reflections on the theme “Human Rights and Dignity: Towards a Just, Peaceable, and Inclusive Future.” 

Members of Geneva’s churches gathered in the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, where the World Council of Churches has its offices, for prayers and hymns to mark the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed in the northern hemisphere from 18 to 25 January each year.

As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, a special prayer held at the Ecumenical Centre and online delved deeply into questions about love for our neighbor.