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Gospel must not be instrumentalized by politics – and churches should never apologize for reading the Bible or for preaching the Gospel, said moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm during his reflection at a morning prayer on 27 January.

During an interfaith service in Memphis, Tennessee, on 20 January at the Healing Cathedral Christian Church, hundreds of people gathered in-person and online to commemorate Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and to respond to deep injustices plaguing the United States. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), with an open letter and prayer, shared its hopes for peace on the eve of the first summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents, which will take place in Geneva on 16 June.

Among the massive social dislocations caused by the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps none is as plaintive as those to churches. Around the world, church gatherings, liturgies, fellowship, and service projects have been canceled or postponed or migrated online, precisely when Christian communities and those who rely on them need them most.

Bishop Staccato Powell is president of the board of bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a founding member church of the World Council of Churches (WCC). His long service with the WCC includes attending four assemblies and serving on many governing bodies, including the current Central Committee.

As Christians across the world prepare to celebrate Easter shuttered in their homes, they will still find the joy of the day and feel closer to each other, thanks to creative thinking by church leaders.

From including photos of church members within webcast worship services, to placing written greetings at doorways, Easter celebrations can still safely connect people who want to celebrate the resurrection of their common Lord.

As he delivered the Inaugural Michael Huffington Lecture at Loyola Marymount University on 1 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke on “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” the theme of the WCC 11th Assembly in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was visiting Los Angeles this week from 30 March to 4 April, preaching at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, delivering a lecture at Loyola Marymount University, and meeting with various ecumenical organizations and groups.

On 31 March at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, in a sermon entitled “The Two Brothers,” World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected on the biblical parable of the prodigal son, among the most shared and well-known stories in the Bible.

(LWF Communication) – An ecumenical prayer service in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States, marked the opening of a four-day consultation of five Christian World Communions discussing the historic importance of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) and its impact on the search for full, visible unity of the church.

Maryland-based, Ghanaian-born Rev. Dr Casely Essamuah was in February selected as secretary of the Global Christian Forum. Originally ordained in the Methodist Church in Ghana, he began his work officially in July. This week he made a study visit to the WCC and the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva and the WCC was able to converse with him.

Sit beside Bishop Mary Ann Swenson for five minutes, and you see that she is constantly nurturing people to learn more about each other, walk together, and become more unified, no matter their differences.

In the midst of a mounting climate of fear of refugees and immigrants, the WCC is calling on Christians to be true to the Biblical imperative to “welcome the stranger”.

As an ecumenical delegation to Japan participates in Hiroshima Day observances on the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing, the WCC has published a liturgical resource and invites churches around the world to join in prayer.