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Attending his first climate talks as the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay took time via an interview to share the key elements of the WCC’s work at COP28—and his biggest hopes. 

In a video interview, Dr Andrej Jeftic, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission, reflects on the commission’s history—and why the commission is relevant today.

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, led a delegation that visited Colombia on 8-11 August to express solidarity with the Colombian churches, government and people as they collaborate in the design, implementation, and advocacy for the construction of peace in the country. Below, he shares his impressions of the visit.

Prof. Dr Fabien Revol, chair of the Ecumenical and Francophone Society on the Theology of Ecology and professor of theology at the Catholic University of Lyon, reflects below on the launch of the book "Penser les relations écologiques en théologie à l'ère de l'Anthropocène" ("Reflecting on Ecological Relations in Theology in the Anthropocene Era”), which is the fruit of a 2021 Theology of Ecology seminar organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the Francophone Society.

When Rev. Rita Famos became involved in the youth programmes of her local congregation in Bern, Switzerland, back in the early 1980s, a lifelong commitment to the Reformed Church and the ecumenical movement started to evolve.

World Council of Churches (WCC) president for Eastern Orthodox Churches Metropolitan Vasilios of Ammochostos has three-quarters of his diocese on the island of Cyprus under Turkish occupation, but no Christians are still living in the occupied part.

At the St Andrew’s Presbyterian of Church East Africa in Nairobi, Judy Kihumba is the voice between the hearing and the deaf worlds in one of Kenya’s oldest churches.

Dr Agnes Abuom, immediate past moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, took time to reflect on the deep meaning of her WCC leadership role, and to share Christmas greetings with the fellowship as she moves on to serve as a lay canon with the Anglican communion in Kenya.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and a WCC delegation led by the acting general secretary Fr Ioan Sauca met on 17 October in Moscow, discussing the current situation with the war in Russia and Ukraine and in light of the danger of nuclear war.

Malena Lozada, from Argentina, attended the World Council of Churches Eco School in 2018. She has remained engaged in climate talks, and is now a climate scientist pursuing a PhD related to climate change.

“Affirming justice and human dignity”  was the theme of the fourth thematic plenary of the World Council of Churches(WCC) 11th assembly on 6 September. The presentation featured a wheelchair dance performance by Fadi El Halabi, a wheelchair user and Ms. Karen Abi Nader, an international artist. In the freestyle dance, Halabi effortlessly spinned around his wheelchair and,  with slow coordinated moves together with his dance partner, threw hands in the air symbolizing the joy that can only be felt when all exclusionary and disempowerment practices in church and society are addressed.

Global Christian Forum sustains imperative role in a post-pandemic world and reaches out to new groups of people. Global meeting to be held in Ghana in 2024.

When Rev. Frank Chikane was leading the South African Council of Churches in calling out injustices of the apartheid system, their work did not stop even after the council’s office building was bombed to the ground in 1980s. Moderating the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 2016, Rev. Chikane has been engaged in addressing injustices in many parts of the world. WCC Communication asked Rev. Chikane to look back at his term at the commission and the ongoing calling of churches to address injustices in the world today.

The WCC executive committee held a special meeting on 4 January and reached a decision to hold the upcoming WCC central committee meeting, scheduled for 9-15 February, online rather than in-person as previously planned. Below, WCC central committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom shares some details behind the decision, and plans for moving forward.

The Taizé community is well-known in the churches around the world for its encouraging accompaniment of young people on their faith journey. How has the pandemic challenged the community located in Southern France, and what do the young people thirst for in the time when most of our interactions take place online? WCC Communications learned more on these topics from Brother Alois, prior of the Taizé community, who was visiting the WCC in the beginning of December.

 Digital justice for Kenyan Samson Waweru is clear, as he believes there should be equal access to both cyber and print information for those who have disabilities and those who do not.

 When using a computer, he says in a video interview with World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive Joy Eva Bohol that it applies to social media platforms and access to them.

 

Dr Salters Sterling, 84, readily sees the ties between his three biggest passions: the ecumenical movement, supporting people on the periphery of society, and speaking out on what churches need to do to survive in today’s digital world.  

Sterling spent his career as a senior university administrator of Trinity College in Dublin, then began teaching there after he retired.

 

Olivia Baro believes achieving true digital justice in the Pacific islands needs some serious work—and that young people can lead the effort.

Baro serves as the ecumenical youth enabler for empowerment and engagement with the Pacific Confer-ence of Churches.

 

Digital justice is relevant to everyone in the digital age, yet it is more important to those living under an autocratic government that can use digital technologies for surveillance of civilians, says a Protestant Christian who works in advocacy.

Her work involves supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across Asia and Europe, and she asked for her name not to be used.

 

Jorge González Nuñez, 29, lives in Matanzas, Cuba. Nuñez serves as president of the Movimiento Estudiantil Cristiano de Cuba, and studies theology at the Seminario Evangélico de Teología de Matanzas.