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Through prayers and images on social media cards, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting all people of good will to express their support for the 2024 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, to be observed 16-22 September.

Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church of Sudan called for end to the ongoing war in the country, as humanitarian agencies flagged a hunger crisis of epic proportions.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay joined all those grieving the loss of six hostages whose bodies were recovered from the Gaza Strip on 31 August. 

In a 26 August statement, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem observe that the twelfth month of the devastating war is rapidly approaching, express their grave concerns, and  urge an immediate ceasefire. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and WCC moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm are urging caution with regard to a law passed by the Ukrainian Rada which bans the activities of religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine.

Hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and supported by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a faith-based dialogue on lethal autonomous weapons will take place at the United Nations in Geneva and online on 27 August. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed solidarity with a 16 August statement by the Jerusalem Patriarchate reacting to the Israeli police’s decision to ban Christian worshippers from participating in the sacred services of the Feast of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has newly published resources for the 2024 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, to be observed 16-22 September. This week includes the UN International Day of Peace on 21 September, now in its 25th year.

Speaking at a Korea Peace Night on 15 August during the World Methodist Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay urges redoubling efforts for reunification on the Korean Peninsula. 

WCC leadership and ecumenical partners met online on 8 August with Christians based in Bethlehem representing a range of different organizations locally, to hear their testimonies, offer accompaniment and support in these times.

A delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC), accompanied by partners from the Middle East Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, and Caritas Internationalis, met online on 7 August with staff from the WCC Jerusalem Liaison Office and with accompaniers from the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

Held online on 8 August as part of a pastoral solidarity visit to the Holy Land, an ecumenical delegation met with the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches in Palestine. The session focussed on the current political situation, the need for an end to the ongoing war and seemingly escalating conflict, so that the region may shift into building peace long-term.

The war in Gaza continues, with the number of lives lost growing by the day and with an immanent risk of further escalation of war and conflict across the region. On 7 August, a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) accompanied by partners from the Middle East Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, and Caritas Internationalis, heard the witness of some of those for whom this war has become a daily reality.  

World Council of Churches moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met on 7 August with the parents of Layan Nasir, a 24-year-old Palestinian Anglican student held in administrative detention by Israeli authorities – without formal charges – since April 2024. 

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ecumenical partners including the Middle East Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, and Caritas Internationalis met online with His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and other Heads of Churches in Jerusalem on 7 August.