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The World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office Advisory Group convened on 20 February under the leadership of WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

During a time of war, struggle, and pain, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is accompanying the churches and the people in Palestine and Israel on their journey with prayer, action, and hope for a better future.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem on 17 February, and was received with gratitude “at this difficult and complicated time for all the peoples of this region, and especially for the Christian community of the Holy Land,” said His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a welcome address. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared joyful congratulations with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who was installed as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

A thanksgiving service for the work and the life of Theophilos III of Jerusalem was held on 22 November in the Holy Sepulchre Church, commemorating the patriarch’s 17th election enthronement.

Easter for Christians, Passover for Jews, and Ramadan for Muslims coincided on the weekend of 15-17 April this year. Still, violence in the holy city of Jerusalem shared by the three faiths was a reminder of the fragility of their relationships.

Following an 11 April statement of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressing grave concerns over announced police restrictions on Holy Fire Saturday, the World Council of Churches (WCC) strongly condemned such measures restricting access to places of worship as violations of religious freedom in the Holy Land.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee closed its meeting after convening from 12-17 November, leaving with a sense of hope, even while publicly expressing grave concern over many global injustices facing the world today.

Leaders from the Protestant Church in Switzerland visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on 1 October, focusing on highlights of the WCC’s work in the past two decades and looking ahead to plans for the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2022.

In a 21 September letter, World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca congratulated Dr Michel Abs on being elected as the next secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches.

Born in Nazareth, Galilee, Rev. Dr Saïd Ailabouni moved to the US at the age of 19 to become a physician. But he was so angry at God that he went to study theology instead, becoming a Lutheran pastor. Now he is leading the Middle East & Europe desk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since leaving his hometown 50 years ago, he visits his Palestinian family regularly. As the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches, Ailabouni agreed to share some of his lifetime observations with the Word Council of Churches.

On 15 March, a group of Ecumenical accompaniers from the WCC were invited to share Shabbat dinner with the Kol HaNeshama congregation in Jerusalem.

After a visit to Israel and Palestine on 21 February through 1 March, a delegation of South African and African-American church leaders, released a Group Pilgrimage Statement on Israel and Palestine.