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One of the main voices of the Brazilian and Latin American ecumenical movement, Jether Pereira Ramalho passed away on 28 June, in Rio, leaving behind a legacy of inspiration, dedication and transformation to many generations.

Helena Taliberti and Vagner Diniz, two very committed Brazilian parents with a passion for life and justice, want to feel connected to the world. “We came here because we are sure that the World Council of Churches (WCC) has a lot of connections,” they said. “The more we are together, the longer and farther we will go. Life is the most precious thing that we have.” The couple lost their children in a dam collapse in Brazil in January. WCC News met with them after a meeting with the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in Geneva in early October.

One month after a dam near an iron ore mine in Brumadinho, Brazil, burst its barrier, flooding another dam down below, churches have been actively working in the area, comforting hundreds of families in grief and joining hands with the public agents who are offering humanitarian relief to the people in the region.

You wouldn’t pay two thousand times more than the value of a cup of coffee, so why pay that for a glass of water? That’s one of the reasons why members of the World Council of Churches’s Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) are encouraging you to consider joining the “Blue Community” and to stop using bottled water in places where tap water is safely and freely available.

“We all sin against the Holy Spirit if we ignore climate change”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, during the opening day of the 24th Pentecostal World Conference, in São Paulo, Brazil, on 7 September. “We have to remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is the life-giver, active in creation from the very beginning till today. The Holy Spirit sustain us and all creatures every day”, he said.

Representatives from over 25 faith expressions and from more than 30 civil society organizations gathered for a public event in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the opening week of the 2016 Olympic games to affirm the dignity of human beings and the planet Earth and the defense of human rights.

Ein historisches Ereignis kündigt sich an, und wir laden Sie ein, sich uns anzuschließen und Ihre Unterstützung zu gewähren. Bei den Olympischen Spielen in Rio wird zum ersten Mal ein Team all die Frauen, Männer, Jungen und Mädchen repräsentieren, die aus ihren Ländern vertrieben wurden. Der ÖRK fordert alle Menschen und alle Kirchen auf, dieses symbolträchtige olympische Flüchtlingsteam anzufeuern, das aus Top-Athleten aus der ganzen Welt besteht.

An historic event is coming up, and we invite you to join and support it. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, for the first time ever, a team will represent those women, men, boys and girls displaced from their homes by crisis. The WCC encourages all people and churches to cheer on the strongly symbolic Refugee Olympic Team, a group of ten top-tier athletes from around the globe.

Les invitamos a apoyar y unirse a un evento sin precedente que está por llegar. En los Juegos Olímpicos de Rio 2016, por primera vez en la historia, un equipo representará a aquellos hombres, mujeres, niñas y niños desplazados de su tierra por las crisis. El CMI invita a todas las personas e iglesias a alentar al tan simbólico Equipo Olímpico de Refugiados que está integrado por 10 atletas de primer nivel de distintas partes del mundo.

Un événement historique approche, et nous vous invitons à y participer en manifestant votre soutien. Lors des Jeux olympiques de Rio 2016, une équipe représentera pour la toute première fois les femmes, les hommes, les filles et les garçons déplacés de chez eux par une crise. Le COE encourage toutes les personnes et toutes les Églises à acclamer la très symbolique équipe olympique des réfugiés, un groupe de dix athlètes de haut niveau originaires du monde entier.

To strengthen relationships and support churches in Latin America in their struggles for justice and peace, a pilgrimage of church leaders organized by the WCC will visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia from 24 August to 7 September.

Rubem Alves of Brazil, one of the foundational thinkers behind Latin American “liberation theology”, died at the age of 80 on Saturday 19 July. This scholar, teacher, activist, psychotherapist and author is being commemorated by colleagues, former students, journalists and others, including heads of state.

For the National Council of Churches of Brazil (CONIC), the World Cup offers a unique opportunity to provide pastoral care and highlight understanding about Brazil.

Substantial information on torture and other human rights abuses was entrusted to the Brazilian attorney general at a ceremony in São Paulo on 14 June 2011. There was also a call for a national truth commission in Brazil to shed more light on past atrocities during the ceremony.