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Hope for Children Through Climate Justice

Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable

The urgency of the climate catastrophe demands strong and effective responses. With fossil fuels driving over 75% of global CO2 emissions, we need to hold accountable those who still finance their expansion, harming us and future generations. 

This publication helps to empower people of faith and partners in WCC’s global constituency with the knowledge for legal action. It provides a menu of strategies particularly aimed at financial institutions, one of the most powerful levers to accelerate climate solutions. It is a call to answer the pleas of the scientific community and young people to tackle the root causes of harm to creation and protect future generation’s right to life.

WCC communications in 2024: expanding messages of unity across the world

Communication from the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2024, through storytelling via many channels, fostered unity in unprecedented ways across the world. From the largest global prayer gathering, to 2.3 million engagements on social media, to large numbers of young visitors both in-person and online, WCC communications connected with more people, in more ways than ever.

In Bolivia, WCC reflects on progress and challenges of 40 years response to HIV

Gracia Violeta Ross, WCC programme executive for HIV, Reproductive Health, and Pandemics, offered two presentations in Bolivia, the first a training for leaders living with HIV on planning and project design for community-based organizations, and the second a keynote speech, entitled 40 years of the HIV response in Bolivia, progress and challenges,” offered at an art museums exhibition closure in Santa Cruz, which is the largest city in the country, with 42% of HIV cases in Bolivia,

Love, Justice, and Reproductive Health

A Framework for Churches
Alexa Dava

Christ’s call to love our neighbours as ourselves includes ensuring that all have access to the resources needed to live and flourish. And yet, societal barriers to reproductive health prevent many individuals from accessing necessary care. Love, Justice and Reproductive Health: A Framework for Churches invites churches to consider reproductive health from a perspective rooted in Christ’s love. It introduces key areas and addresses prevalent disparities within reproductive health outcomes. The framework encourages churches to act on this issue, providing programmatic suggestions for them to embody Christ’s love and justice within their own contexts.

Please send comments and questions to [email protected]
The author, Rev Alexa Dava is ordained with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and serves as project officer for Human Dignity and Reproductive Health at the WCC.

United and Uniting Churches: Two Messages

Faith and Order Papers, Series 2, n. 225

Taken together, these two messages from international consultations, sponsored by the World Council of Churches, provide a valuable entry point for reflection on the self-understanding and mission of United and Uniting Churches in today’s world.
I. Going the Second Mile: A message of the 8th Consultation of United and Uniting Churches. Johannesburg, 29 October–5 November 2008
II. Living in Tents: A Message of the 9th Consultation of United and Uniting Churches. Chennai, 25 November–2 December 2015.
Two appendices provide documentary information about Faith and Order publications concerning United and Uniting Churches.

TUMEWEZA

Compendium of Good Practices for Ensuring Disability-Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Gender-Based Violence Services in United Republic of Tanzania

The Tumeweza compendium iss a vital resource for ensuring disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender-based violence (GBV) services in the United Republic of Tanzania. It highlights the significant strides made towards improving accessibility and inclusivity in healthcare services, particularly through the efforts at Selian Lutheran Hospital and Nkinga Referral Hospital. The lessons learned from these initiatives provide a roadmap for other health facilities to follow, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities, government stakeholders, and faith-based organizations.
While the progress is commendable, there are still gaps that need to be addressed to fully realize inclusive healthcare services for women and girls with disabilities. These include improving infrastructure, enhancing communication between healthcare providers and patients with disabilities, and creating specific policies and procedures that ensure the dignity and autonomy of all individuals. The compendium underscores the necessity of continuous training, accessible information systems, and advocacy at all levels to ensure that no one is left behind.
Moving forward, it is essential for health facilities, policymakers, and development partners to prioritize the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all healthcare-related initiatives. By addressing the existing gaps and building on the good practices outlined in this compendium, Tanzania can continue to lead in the promotion of disability-inclusive SRHR and GBV services in the region and globally, ensuring that every woman and girl has the right to safe, accessible, and respectful healthcare.

View a webinar to explore theology and AI

A video is now available of a webinar, Theology and Artificial Intelligence: Systematic and Denominational Perspectives,” co-organized by the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches (WCC), that analyzed challenges posed by generative AI and trans-humanism for theological aspects such as the personhood and the image of God, the meaning of the Incarnation, and the Trinity.

HIV/AIDS until when?

Many people living with HIV like me, would really like to say the HIV pandemic has finished and a cure and vaccine are available. That is aspirational; it is a dream. Currently there are 39 million people living with HIV, but only 29 million have access to treatment. 

Living Planet Monitor, Volume 1, Issue 1, Nov. 2024

Southern and Eastern Africa

This first issue of the Living Planet Monitor aims to monitor our commitment to sustainable food systems, conservation of land, ecological biodiversity, and water justice in Africa The Living Planet Monitor will give you an overview of the situation in a particular continent by monitoring indicators on food security, water resources, land use, and climate resilience. It is a key instrument for faith communities to stay informed on the current situation, share good practices and projects led by church-based organizations, and give hope and courage to transform the situation.

WCC shares insights on mental health with pastors in Namibia

The World Council of Churches (WCC) shared insights with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) on 21 November, with Dr Manoj Kurian, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing, offering an online half-day session addressing mental health awareness and the impact of trauma on mental health.