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EWN members stand in solidarity with water and land defenders

Berta Caceres was a well-known land rights defender who led a battle against a large dam on ancestral lands in Honduras. She was shot to death at her home in 2016. Recently the former president of the internationally financed dam company was found guilty over the assassination. Members of the WCC-Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) are worried that violence against activists who are taking a stand against the overexploitation of natural resources, like land and water, is on the rise. Unlike the murder of Berta Caceres, most attacks and killings go unpunished.

21 September 2021

Violence against girls and women: the unanimous ”no“ of girls and women of the churches of Benin

Improving awareness among girls and women on violence, transformative masculinities and femininities, HIV in the COVID-19 context: in order to achieve this very important objective, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, in collaboration with the non-governmental organization Déborah and the Bible Society of Benin, held an intergenerational workshop for 25 girls and women from the Protestant Methodist Church of Benin, the Assemblies of God Church of Benin, Pentecostal churches and non-governmental organisations. The workshop took place at the Bible Society of Cotonou.

20 September 2021

Churches offer some relief in Kenya’s drought disaster

As severe drought ravages 2.1 million people in Kenya, churches in the East African nation are in the front offering interventions.

16 September 2021

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization

Faith communities vital in COVID fight because they are trusted, WHO chief says

Faith communities, governments, international organizations, foundations, the private sector, and civil society organizations are essential in every response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, told an interfaith gathering.

31 August 2021

Walk the Talk

A Toolkit to Accompany the "Roadmap for Congregations, Communities and Churches for an Economy of Life and Ecological Justice"

“Walk the Talk” builds on “Roadmap for Congregations, Communities and Churches for an Economy of Life and Ecological Justice ,” a 5-step programme to change the way we deal with the economy and our ecological surroundings.

This toolkit aims to enthuse congregations and churches through concrete examples of communities in action as well as offer good practices and practical materials to “walk the talk” on economic and ecological justice, in each of the areas:

Living in Accordance with the Covenant with God and Creation
Renewable Energy and Climate Protection
Just and Sustainable Consumption
Economies of Life

31 August 2021

WCC Vaccine Champions encourage churches’ leadership in promoting public health

The World Council of Churches Vaccine Champions shared their reflections on the status of vaccines in their home contexts, as well as the important role churches are playing in moving toward vaccine equity.

30 August 2021

Ecumenical International Youth Day 2021 Event Toolkit

Young People and Climate Justice

The World Council of Churches provides this toolkit as a resource for the fellowship to plan and organize unique celebrations of Ecumenical International Youth Day 2021. It includes background information and a description of this year’s theme, climate justice, tools and resources and a suggested programme format to use and adapt in local contexts.

The WCC programmes on Youth Engagement in the Ecumenical Movement, Churches Commitment to Children, and Climate and Economic Justice are collaborating for this year’s focus area.

06 August 2021

Kenyan works with Bible to support churches and community on HIV and AIDS

Esther Linda Kwamboka works with the Bible when she counsels sex workers and long-distance truck drivers, and those with HIV and AIDS. She also offers support to those of different faiths.

28 July 2021

Standing Rock Tribal Office Building with a “Black Snake” depicting the DAPL oil pipeline.

In Standing Rock, eco-justice and indigenous identity go hand-in-hand

A World Council of Churches (WCC) pilgrim team engaged in online visits to indigenous communities on Standing Rock, 25-28 May. The WCC delegation stood in solidarity with the local indigenous communities, particularly along the shore of the Missouri River (Lake Oahe), in their struggle for justice, including water justice.

03 June 2021

Because God Loves Me - Affirming My Value in Christ

“Because God Loves Me—Affirming My Value in Christ,” a new curriculum written in French that is designed to help children ages 7-12 address gender-based violence.

Though the curriculum, edited by Yvette A. Kelem and Blandine E. Ackla, was developed for use primarily with churches and church groups in Africa, it is relevant and accessible for other French-speaking populations as well.

The Christian education programme encourages the full involvement of children, adolescents and youth in becoming early proponents of nonviolence. Developed for children's Bible study leaders, teachers, parish volunteers, and others who work with children, the curriculum serves as a guide to help churches live into their responsibility to protect all children, girls and women from gender-based violence.

20 May 2021

Arctic communities to WCC pilgrims: “We need your voice”

Lorraine Netro, who was raised in the Gwich’in First Nation of Old Crow, Yukon (Canada), is part of an indigenous community—but she’s also a global citizen.

“Today’s Arctic peoples are important members of global society,” Netro said. “The survival of Arctic cultures and communities remains tied to the wildlife and landscape of the Arctic Refuge.”

11 May 2021

WCC materials educate—and advocate—for vaccine awareness and equality

As part of World Immunization Week, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is offering a range of resources designed to share accurate information about vaccines and help churches to advocate for vaccine equality across the world.

28 April 2021

Health-Promoting Churches Volume II:

A handbook to accompany churches in establishing and running sustainable health promotion ministries

Based on the premise that the local congregation is the primary agent for healing, and each individual member has a unique gift to contribute to this healing ministry, this book provides guidelines, resources and tools to equip and support local Christian congregations in starting a sustainable health ministry.

It provides a theological and public health basis of the Health Promoting Churches (HPC) model and a guide on organizing the HPC programme sustainably.

28 April 2021

Seven Weeks for Water 2021, week 7: "Healing the water heals the wounds of the earth and its people", by Andrew Schwartz

The seventh and last reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written by Andrew Schwartz.* In the following reflection during Holy Week, he is using a small town in the USA as a case study to emphasise how local communities can take small initiatives to “resurrect” the contaminated or “dead” groundwater to form life giving waters. Leaving us on a positive note, he ends by saying, “if Holy Week teaches us anything it’s that death is not final.”

29 March 2021

Seven Weeks for Water 2021, week 6: "A universe reborn: in the context of Standing Rock", by Archbishop Mark MacDonald

The 6^th reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written by Archbishop Mark MacDonald.* In the following reflection, he recognises that Jesus and his ministry are closely associated with water. Then he goes on to recall his presence at the Standing Rock protests in 2016 along with other clergy and indigenous water protectors. He felt, at that time, that Jesus was also present beside them at the Standing Rock to protect its waters.

22 March 2021

Vaccination hesitance poses yet another challenge

As vaccination programmes are being rolled out in more and more countries, there is hope for an end of a pandemic which has brought fear and anxiety around the globe since early 2020. A return to an everyday life, where people can socialize with family and friends, go to work as they used to and worship God together in church on Sundays, is eagerly awaited.

18 March 2021

Voices of Lament, Hope, and Courage

A Week of Prayer in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

To commemorate a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic, the World Council of Churches provides this resource for a week of prayer.

This book was designed as a resource for use in prayer groups, congregational services, personal prayer, and in the pastoral accompaniment of those directly affected in different ways by the pandemic. The prayers, messages, reflections, statistics and WCC resources have roots in faith challenged by mourning, fear and uncertainty in different contexts worldwide.

18 March 2021

Seven Weeks for Water 2021, week 5: "Water on Wall Street: the ultimate abuse of God’s gift", by Susan Smith and Dinesh Suna

The 5^th reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2021 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is written by Susan Smith and Dinesh Suna.* In the following reflection, they condemn the recent listing of water on Wall Street as a tradable commodity. Referring to the biblical assurance that God will quench the thirst of the poor and needy and that water should be made available to all even if they have no money, they proclaim the true value of water as a gift from God, a human right, a spiritual wonder and the source of all life.

15 March 2021