During a World Council of Churches morning prayer—focusing on the churches and people of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine – a reflection by Prof. Dr Dmytro Tsolin focused on both the pain of the war in Ukraine as well as how we hang onto hope.
This year, the World Day of Health, which is celebrated annually on 7 April, falls on the third Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church that is dedicated to the Veneration of the Holy Cross.
Churches and Christian communities worldwide are invited to use the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 resources to pray together for the unity among churches throughout the year.
The World Day of Prayer, to be observed on 1 March, has been prepared this year by an ecumenical group of Palestinian women in response to the theme “I beg you…bear with one another in love.”
Bringing together representatives from the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Joint Working Group between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church met online on 21 February for its first executive meeting.
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.
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.
The world’s largest prayer gathering—the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity—is set to open with an array of inspiring resources, from liturgical materials to colorful social media cards.
An ecumenical team from Burkina Faso facilitated by the local Chemin Neuf Community has been the convener for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 drafting group. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican have now published the material in several languages.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay sent joyful greetings from the global fellowship to Cardinal-elect Pierrbattista Pizzaballa’s nomination by His Holiness Pope Francis.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated in the southern hemisphere from 21-28 May. Below, Rev. Canon Michael Wallace, vicar for the Dunedin North Anglican Parish Te Pāriha o Ōtepoti ki te Raki, reflects on his hopes for observing the special week in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Churches in the southern hemisphere will observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 21-28 May, the week between Ascension and Pentecost. This year’s theme is “Do good; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17).”
The upcoming Barbados Gospelfest, set for 21-28 May, will express churches’ affirmation and celebration of persons with disabilities in musical and other creative ways.
Pastor Joachim Leberecht, from Herzogenrath/Germany, has won the international Menno Simons Sermon Award from the Center for Peace Church Theology (University of Hamburg) together with the Mennonite congregation Hamburg-Altona.