Commission of the Churches on International AffairsDirector’s report at the opening session of the CCIA 60th meeting / Life and Work Centenary Consultation, Athens, 18 May 2025.
A delegation of alumni from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel visited Washington, DC, to amplify the voices of those affected by escalating human rights violations in Jerusalem and across Palestine.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and partner faith-based organizations convened on 29 April for a the side event entitled “A holistic, transformative approach to climate finance: Connecting the dots between climate finance, debt and tax reform” during the United Nations Economic and Social Council Financing for Development Forum. The event highlighted the interconnections between climate action, debt relief, and tax justice as essential components of climate finance mobilization.
A training programme to equip churches to address the impact of climate change and global warming on health took place in Chad and the Philippines, two of the most impacted countries in Africa and Asia, from 28-30 April.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay commemorated the 160th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan with special greetings reflecting on the anniversary theme “Dwelling in God`s Abundance.” On 23 April 2025, Pillay preached during a service commemorating the anniversary.
Auf einem Workshop des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK) am 15. April konnten Kirchenleitende lernen, dass es bei Klimaklagen nicht unbedingt darum geht, einzelne Prozesse zu gewinnen, sondern die Politik von Regierungen und das Verhalten von Konzernen zu verändern.
Les Sœurs de Saint-Joseph de la Paix, des nonnes catholiques sises à Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (États-Unis), ont passé les quatre dernières années à présenter des résolutions d’actionnaires de Citigroup, exhortant la société mère de l’une des plus grandes banques d’investissement au monde à revoir ses liens avec des projets de combustibles fossiles nuisant aux communautés autochtones.
A training hosted 15 April by the World Council of Churches (WCC) helped church leaders realize that climate litigation isn’t necessarily about winning individual cases—it’s about changing government policies and corporate behavior.
The Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, Catholic nuns located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (US), have spent the past four years filing shareholder resolutions related to Citigroup, urging the parent company of one of the world’s largest investment banks to rethink its financial ties to fossil fuel projects that harm Indigenous communities.
Exploring how churches can do more for climate justice, the World Council of Churches (WCC), in cooperation with the National Council of Churches in Bangladesh, organized a climate litigation training in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 11 April.
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) debuted its new resource on legal tools for climate justice, the focus was on hope for children—a hope strongly backed by knowledge on how churches can hold financial actors accountable for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis.
This year, 2025, the global ecumenical family is commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, a significant event that shaped the theological foundations of Christianity and issued 20 decrees that still impact church discourse and practice today.
Erik Svanberg and Maria Bäcklund, through the Christian Council of Sweden, have served as national coordinators with the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. They both are losing their jobs, as the programme has been paused because of changes by the Swedish government in funding priorities. Svanberg and Bäcklund reflected on the life-changing aspects of their work, and their wish that the programme will continue.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) invites media representatives to the opening event of “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice,” a new resource that provides legal tools designed to hold financial actors accountable for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis.
Appearing on BBC One’s “Sunday Morning Live” TV show on 30 March, World Council of Churches senior programme lead for Children and Climate Frederique Seidel highlighted the WCC’s new resource, “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable.”
Online training on the legal tools for climate justice will introduce the newly published resource "Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable,” providing churches and communities essential legal tools to hold financial actors accountable for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis.
