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Learning and hoping: peacemakers give and receive messages to the world

Messages of hope related to climate change and global conflicts from renowned global peacemakers have inspired young Christians, Jews, and Muslims at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum, held 5-14 July at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. The young peacemakers have spent nearly 10 days crafting the next generation of peacebuilding.

The forum is organized in partnership between the Muslim Council of Elders, the WCC, and the Rose Castle Foundation.

11 July 2023

Emerging Peacemakers Forum Group Phoo Planting Trees

Participants at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum send a message of hope to COP28

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.

09 July 2023

Young participants of the forum walking in Bossey park

Young Christians, Jews, and Muslims begin a peace-building journey

The Christians, Jews, and Muslims laughing and chatting together, learning about peace were not in an aspirational story; they are authentic, live young people having fun at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum.

06 July 2023

Children deliver rallying cry to Summit for a New Global Financing Pact: “replace the existing colonial economic model”

Children who gathered prior and during the New Global Financial Pact, held 22-23 June in Paris, delivered a clear message to President Macron and world leaders: the existing colonial economic model must be replaced with one that prioritizes humanity over profits.

06 July 2023

The Pacific sees the smallness of region as a strength, not a weakness

“The Pacific is a large ocean region, and we see the smallness of our region as a strength not a weakness. Amidst the vulnerability our islands experience to climate change, geopolitical and neo-colonialism, we affirm our resilience as a gift of God, rooted in our Indigenous wisdom and celebrated as spirituality of abundance and hospitality,” said Iemaima Vaai, representing the Methodist Church of Samoa and youth advisor to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in her shared message to the central committee, on behalf of the Pacific region.

05 July 2023

Interview

Boy lays out the framework for the roof in circles

WCC reaffirms importance of diaconal service and mission

Rev. Matthew Ross, who served as WCC programme executive for Diakonia and Capacity Building from 2018-2023, reflects on how the document “Called to Transformation – Ecumenical Diakonia,” which he edited, is being received in ways that affirm the importance of diaconal service and mission.

04 July 2023

Interview

Ecumenical Patriarch on WCC 75th anniversary: “a time for renewal of commitment”

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke during a brief interview after his opening sermon on 21 June at the World Council of Churches central committee meeting.

03 July 2023

Impact of climate change: women and children bearing the brunt

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.

03 July 2023

Vast challenges in Asia call for unity

By far the largest region, both in terms of population and geographical size, the Asia region faces an array of pertinent issues for the churches to address and engage in. Stretching from Iran in the west to Japan in the east and from Nepal in the north to New Zealand in the south, the region encompasses a wide range of cultures and religions.

29 June 2023

WCC central committee minutes address world’s issues

The World Council of Churches central committee released seven minutes addressing serious concerns across the globe. These include:

27 June 2023

Statement: minute

Minute on Various Pressing Issues

Minute on Various Pressing Issues by the WCC central committee, Geneva, Switzerland, 21-27 June 2023.

27 June 2023

WCC central committee appoints youth advisors, commissions and working groups

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, in its business proceedings, appointed 17 youth advisors; elected leaders for its commissions; and revised bylaws for the new WCC Commission on Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

27 June 2023

Interview

Churches must talk about issues even if they are not comfortable with them, says Disciples' leader

Rev. Terri Hord Owens, the general minister and president of the Christian Church, the Disciples of Christ (USA and Canada), says the World Council of Churches (WCC) must offer an environment where people can talk on all issues, even if it is uncomfortable or "messy" to do so.

27 June 2023

Statement: public statement

Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the WCC central committee, Geneva, Switzerland, 21-27 June 2023.

26 June 2023

WCC statement marks 75th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The World Council of Churches (WCC) marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a public statement that acknowledges the shared values that underpin both the declaration and the WCC, also marking its own 75th year in existence.

26 June 2023

Climate change comes under churches' microscope as a justice issue

The climate emergency is already causing serious food insecurity on a global scale, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee heard at a plenary session on 23 June—and they added that climate justice is a matter of both faith and action.

24 June 2023

Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm speaking at the plenary

WCC important “to proclaim healing to a broken world,” moderator urges

World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, speaking at the WCC central committee meeting, focused on how the WCC can possibly address and respond to so many challenges in the world today.

22 June 2023

Report

Report of the General Secretary to the WCC Central Committee, June 2023

Report of the WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay to the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, 21 - 27 June 2023.

21 June 2023

Report

Moderator’s Address to the Central Committee, June 2023

Address of Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, at the WCC central committee meeting on 21-27 June 2023.

21 June 2023