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Irish church leaders have in an ecumenical message called for a spirit of hope and continued peace-building in Northern Ireland when talks resume to form a government there after the UK General Election. The church leaders from Northern Ireland were speaking before voters there along with those from England, Wales and Scotland were to vote in a general election on 8 June for the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland’s future has been uncertain in recent months after the 10-year power-sharing coalition of unionists.

Climate justice isn't a policy that can simply be thrown away by any president - it’s a moral decision that affects the well-being of millions of people and future generations across the world. Thousands of people are communicating this message via statements, posts and tweets on social media, and even with earnest conversations with their neighbors. Many are from the WCC fellowship, humanitarian groups, churches and communities, and they are bringing a clear - and unified - voice of justice after US President Donald Trump announced on 2 June that his nation would leave the Paris climate accord.

The Conference of European Churches and the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, have strongly condemned a bombing in Manchester, United Kingdom, that has left 22 persons dead and another five-dozen wounded. The attack took place at Manchester Stadium, just as thousands of children and young people, along with their parents and many others, were leaving a pop concert.

Not nearly enough is being done to save the lives of the 20 million people who face famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria. Among them are 1.4 million children, who are at imminent risk of death unless aid reaches them immediately.

Dr Pauline Webb, a British Methodist laywoman, multi-talented Christian communicator and ecumenical statesperson, died at the age of 89 on 27 April 2017 in Muswell Hill, London.

As a global week of action on tax justice concludes, church activities around the world have helped shed light on tax dodging and the impact it has on people in situations across the world.

“Macha's contribution to improving the lives of blind, partially sighted and other persons with disabilities both in Africa and around the world was remarkable,” said Dr Penny Hartin, CEO, World Blind Union, upon learning the death of Dr Elly Macha.

“What contribution can those involved in the interreligious work of the churches offer in the current challenges faced in Europe at the present time?” This was the primary question addressed during a 29-31 March meeting of people working as interreligious officers for various churches in Europe and church-related organizations.

As Great Britain continued to cope with grief and trauma in the wake of the country’s deadliest terror attack in 12 years, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered sympathy for those who lost loved ones from both Great Britain and other countries.

“…the most important thing I’ve ever done is to become a follower of Jesus. I took my first steps with Him about 42 years ago,” says Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in a recently released video as part of a “Pledge2Pray” campaign.

The World Council of Churches, Council for World Mission and United Reformed Church, held a joint consultation on Multiple Religious Belonging, 14-16 December, at Queen’s Ecumenical Centre, Birmingham UK. The consultation which included members of different faith groups, renowned theologians and grassroots interfaith activists extended and enriched continuing conversations on the lived reality of multiple religious belonging and religious hybridity. The consultation included panel discussions from inter-religious; theological; ritual and socio-anthropological; and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Following a 6-November ceremony where recently retired Very Rev. Dr Sheilagh Kesting was “knighted”, as Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Francis, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit now extends congratulations to Kesting, a long-standing colleague and ecumenist from the Church of Scotland.

As Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby condemned antisemitism in an article for the Holocaust Educational Trust, he and other religious leaders underscored the importance of working together to seek the flourishing of all. In an essay entitled “Vigilance and resolution: Living antidotes to an ancient virus,” Welby refers to antisemitism as “an insidious evil.”

“What happens when we journey on a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage of justice and peace, with people who share our values but who may or may not accept the institution of the church? And what does it mean to be on a pilgrimage of justice and peace, when the next generation shares our concerns for justice and peace, and want to follow God, but do not share our spirituality as confined by church and by tradition?”

The six presidents of the organization Churches Together in England are encouraging all churches to pray together through an initiative called “Thy Kingdom Come.” The effort focuses on praying for Christ’s transforming love to bring hope and joy to all.

In the wake of the highly-anticipated Chilcot report, the World Council of Churches (WCC) stands by its original position, first adopted in 2002 via a wide consultative process with its member churches, that all possible efforts should have been exhausted to prevent the war in Iraq.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has invited its member churches “to pray for God’s guidance and wisdom for religious, political leaders in the UK, in Europe and around the world” following the 23 June referendum in which a majority of voters in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland chose to end the UK’s 43-year membership in the European Union.

Global security has been a key concern of the ecumenical movement for more than a century, and was in many ways integral to the very formation of the WCC in the mid 20th century. On 6 April, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit addressed this very issue in a contribution to York Minster’s lecture series Global Security and the United Nations: 70 years on.

David Bradwell of Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees has been on a mission for the past six months trying to raise awareness on what individuals and churches can do to help those fleeing conflicts and wars.

Almost forty years after the advent of HIV and AIDS, people around the world living with HIV still endure assaults on their dignity and basic human rights—from stigma and discrimination to denial of legal protection and even medical care.