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WCC central committee dedicates prayers to Green Village project as “new way of working” takes shape

As the Green Village project—the future home of the World Council of Churches (WCC)—takes shape, WCC leaders, joined by leaders from development company Implenia, offered special prayers dedicated to a more sustainable way of working.

24 June 2022

African faiths launch climate change justice network

On 23 June, at a climate change consultation in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, African faith leaders launched a climate justice network to coordinate their work and increase visibility, as the first respondents to ecological crises at the grassroots.

24 June 2022

Boy looking out of the window of the train

As Europe feels the suffering of war, WCC Lutheran member churches share perspectives on war and peace

Sharing the concerns of World Council of Churches (WCC) Lutheran member churches around the world, a Lutheran confessional meeting took place during the recent central committee meeting at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva.

24 June 2022

Young people gathering for a discussion in a group

WCC shares greetings with World Student Christian Federation General Assembly

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared greetings with the 37th Session of the World Student Christian Federation General Assembly, which will be held in Berlin from 23 June to 1 July.

24 June 2022

WCC general secretary-elect Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay: “If we learn to trust the work of the Holy Spirit, we can find each other even through difficulties”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee elected Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as the ninth general secretary at its 17 June meeting. Below, Pillay reflects on his longstanding passion for ecumenism and his expectations for the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.

23 June 2022

WCC acting general secretary shares assembly insights with Evangelical Church in Germany

Two months before the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, visited the Church Conference and Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany and informed them about the planning. Sauca also took part in the St John´s Reception of the Evangelical Church in Germany on 22 June.

23 June 2022

Dr Elizabeth Joy’s message to the WCC: “We have created history”

Dr Elizabeth Joy was the first woman ever to be shortlisted as a nominee for the general secretary of the World Council of Churches. A director at Churches Together in England, she is from the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. She grew up in both India and the United Kingdom. Below, during an interview held the day after the WCC elections, she reflects on her roots in the ecumenical movement, and on her message to the WCC.

23 June 2022

Eastern African religious leaders urge Democratic Republic of Congo to embrace dialogue as means to resolve grievances

In a 21 June statement, religious leaders in eastern Africa released a statement on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They reaffirmed their commitment to peace, security and democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the eastern African community at large.

23 June 2022

A woman standing at the entrance of the Global Village, Durban, South Africa

“Statelessness is about expulsion from the human community”

Ekaterina E. wears the human face of statelessness every day.“Statelessness is about expulsion from the human community” she says, “for me personally, being stateless means I have been separated from my mother for nearly 30 years now.”

23 June 2022

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Bridging gaps and bringing people to the table

Global Christian Forum sustains imperative role in a post-pandemic world and reaches out to new groups of people. Global meeting to be held in Ghana in 2024.

23 June 2022

Jerusalem landscape with the flags of Israel

Regarding false media reporting on Israel and Dr Pillay

Since the election in mid-June of Rev. Dr Prof. Jerry Pillay as new World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, concerns have been raised, predominantly in Jewish media, about his position on Israel and the Jewish communities and their faith.

23 June 2022

African-instituted church leaders discuss challenges, achievements faced during and after COVID-19

A gathering of church leaders from African-instituted churches took place in Geneva on 15 June as part of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting.

22 June 2022

Blog post

My experience in Fiji

My name is Tobias Nissen, I am an 18-year-old UK / Danish dual national who has lived in France my whole life. I attended school in Geneva, Switzerland and during my final years of education, I wrote an essay about the effects that climate change is having on low-lying Pacific countries. From this point on my interest in the Pacific region grew, and when I received the opportunity to work as an intern for the Pacific Conference of Churches, in Fiji for 2 months, I knew that it would be an experience that I couldn’t miss.

22 June 2022

Tobias Nissen

Preparing for the WCC 11th Assembly, Methodists pray for unity within their church

During the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting in June, Methodist members of the WCC governing body gathered for a moment of sharing.

22 June 2022

Rev. Dr Jeffrey Carter expresses sense of hope in “centre that seeks unity above all else”

Rev. Dr Jeffrey Carter, Church of the Brethren, is president of Bethany Theological Seminary. His reflections below were drawn from an interview after the confessional meeting with historic peace churches and the Moravians that occurred during the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting. Carter is a member of the central committee.

21 June 2022

Peace churches call for “more creativity in our peacebuilding”

“We are asked to reflect on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee and the WCC 11th Assembly,” said Janet Scott, Friends World Committee for Consultation, as she prepared to facilitate the confessional meeting of the Moravian and historic peace churches on the first day of the central committee meeting. “Our historic peace church way to reflect is to consider how to further the cause of peace.”

21 June 2022

Assembly leadership meeting convenes at Bossey

An assembly leadership meeting is convening at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute from 20-21 June to continue preparing for the WCC 11th Assembly with the delegates and presidents nominated to lead assembly business, assembly committees and thematic plenaries. The meeting will introduce the assembly business agenda and provide training on the conduct of WCC meetings, including consensus decision-making.

21 June 2022

Awaiting world church leaders, South Sudanese churches hold ecumenical prayers

At ecumenical prayers in the capital city, Juba, South Sudanese church leaders called for unity, peace, and reconciliation, as their nation continued to struggle with instability and conflict, a decade after independence.

20 June 2022