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A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation led by WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Pillay visited New York City and Washington, DC this week, meeting with United Nations representatives, the Papal Nuncio, the National Council of Churches in North America, other church leaders, and ecumenical organizations and state officials.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation will visit New York City and Washington, D.C. 18-21 July with the goal of strengthening collaboration and partnerships.

50 young people from 24 countries have sent a message of hope to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023. The message was delivered during a special ceremony during the second edition of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum, held at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland.

From 2020 to 2021, more than 50 million people were displaced due to weather events and faced risks of trafficking and even death as well as discrimination based on race and gender. This finding emerged from the report of Ian Fry, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, to the 53rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva from 19 June-14 July.

Observing the UN International Day for Biodiversity on 22 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) co-organized a hybrid conference on the role of religion and civil societies in biodiversity protection.

“It was with sadness that we received the news of the passing of Prof. Dr Julio Hector de Santa Ana, a reference of ecumenical theology in a liberating perspective,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). De Santa Ana passed away in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 April.

“Our two churches have more than 200 years of shared history in Europe and the United States. This full-communion agreement is one more sign of the beloved community that we so need in these times. Our partnership in addressing the challenges of climate change, supporting refugees, and racial justice binds us even more deeply to worldwide ecumenical efforts,” said Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. 

A 25 May webinar—held on the exact same date of the tragic killing of George Floyd—will explore how the racial justice landscape has evolved, particularly in the United States as well as at the United Nations (UN).

When the World Council of Churches (WCC) launched the Programme to Combat Racism after years of in-depth theological reflections and prayer in 1971, South Africa's insidious racist apartheid policies were in full throw. The programme brought the WCC into the world's spotlight. Yet racism did not start 50 years ago. And it did not end with the casting out of apartheid at the end of the 20th century. During that era, figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela fought racism in society and the church.

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.