Meeting from 17 to 24 June, the newly reconstituted Commission on Faith and Order of the WCC has begun to define its principal trajectories for ecumenical study and common activity from 2015 until the next WCC Assembly in 2020.
Bishop Mark MacDonald shared views on indigenous peoples and climate change in an interview with WCC Communications. "We are entering an era in which the public has a broader awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples," he said.
To promote strong measures against climate change, the WCC and the Geneva Interfaith Forum on Climate Change, Environment and Human Rights organized a side event to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The World Council of Churches welcomed Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si'”, released on June 18, which highlights what churches and ecumenical organizations have been doing for decades on caring for the earth and climate justice issues.
Filipina church emergency programme manager Minnie Anne M. Calub looks to the prophet Isaiah for inspiration in rebuilding her country after the worst recorded typhoon smote her nation of islands in November 2013.
As head of policy at Christian Aid, a key member of the ACT Alliance, Alison Kelly has an eye on sustainable development in what is seen as the prophetic voice of the church, which has a busy year in 2015.
As organizations worldwide intensify their work on issues of climate justice, and the clock is ticking for new climate commitments to take shape, members of the WCC Working Group on Climate Change have gathered for a four-day meeting to strategize for effective climate justice action and for strong participation of faith-based initiatives at COP21.
Introducing 2015 as “a sacred year in the life of our people and our land,” Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, welcomed the 20-member WCC Executive Committee to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin at the start of their semi-annual meeting that is taking place from 8 to 12 June.
Humanity cannot ignore its responsibility for creation, the WCC general secretary, the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has stated in Stuttgart during the German Protestant Kirchentag.
What does the environment have to do with the pilgrimage of justice and peace? In my view, a pilgrimage is an expression of what we are as human beings: people on the way, from birth to death. A pilgrimage is also a spiritual practice for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other faith traditions.
Tens of thousands of people from Germany and beyond have converged on the city of Stuttgart for a five-day festival of faith, debates, music, worship and culture. Open-air services in different parts of the city marked the start of the German Protestant Kirchentag, or church convention, which began on 3 June and continues until 7 June.
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has offered greetings to Buddhist partners in dialogue on the day of Vesakh which celebrates the founder of the faith, Siddhartha Gautama.
Under the theme “Living Together in the Household of God,” some 440 representatives of member churches and partner bodies from 28 countries gathered on Thursday 21 May in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the opening of the Christian Conference of Asia’s 14th General Assembly.
Living Together in the Household of God:
Isabel Phiri's speech at CCA in Jakarta
A Theological Reflection
14th GENERAL ASSEMBLY CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE OF ASIA
D. T. NILES MEMORIAL LECTURE
Friday, May 22, 2015
20- 27 May 2015, Jakarta- Indonesia
A pilgrimage of justice and peace. Our theme for the World Council of Churches in this period could very well have been formulated by Philip Potter. He was a pilgrim of justice and peace. He is a pilgrim - now at home with God in another way than before.
On 5 May each year the Council of Europe marks Europe Day. It is a day to celebrate peace and unity across the continent. It is also a day to honour successes of Europe—widespread peace and free movement at internal borders, increasing prosperity and cooperation, recovery and flourishing following times of crisis. It is also a time to reflect on where we want to go, who we want to be as Europe.
