Search results

In a meeting with a format and focus dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) this week addressed vital international developments and situations.

Four global organizations representing some 500 million Christians have written an urgent letter to G20 leaders, calling for them to leave behind the current broken financial architecture and promote a truly just and sustainable recovery.

The World Council of Churches executive committee met virtually on 1-3 June. The work of the committee, in three intense sessions, focused on governance matters, giving consideration to the ways of working until face-to-face governance meetings can occur again; and to finance matters, with the need to address the requirement for a revised budget for this year. In addition, two public statements have been prepared, discussed and issued, the first concerning the role of churches as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and the second a “Statement on Racial Justice in the USA.”

The executive committee, on behalf of the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has decided, in close consultation with the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and other host churches and local partners, to postpone the 11th assembly, originally planned for September 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany, until 2022.

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca has been confirmed interim WCC general secretary by the executive committee at an online meeting held on 3 June. Sauca will hold the post until the WCC central committee meets in June 2021.

As major challenges for the global economy are predicted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a diverse group of faith institutions is putting the call for a just economic recovery into practice.

A series of online Working Together meetings last week helped strengthen collaboration between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its round table partner and specialized ministries, including ACT Alliance. The meetings, which normally takes place every May at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute was convened online by WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca.

A series of two e-conferences, 17 and 24 April, brought together some 25 participants to reflect on the socio-economic-ecological impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and how it offers the world an opportunity to rethink and reshape financial and economic systems so that these actually give priority to ensuring and investing in the health and well-being of communities and the planet. The initiative was co-sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Lutheran World Federation, World Communion of Reformed Churches, and Council for World Mission.

An interfaith message issued for Earth Day, 22 April, is calling for ambitious and urgent action to address the climate emergency, urging that “efforts to rebuild economies put people’s health before profit.”

Bridging the gap between faith and investments with cooperation between different groups was the focus of recent a two-day conference in Geneva. It was a rare meeting of the likes of asset managers and clergy, and the solution at the heart of success was how to collaborate for success based on Christian principles.