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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new urgency to adopting an “Economy of Life,” and global religious groups that represent millions of people are saying now is the time.

The new issue of International Review of Mission includes a variety of articles, ranging from post-colonialism to public theology, and from mission models to Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation. Two of the articles are specifically concerned with healing, which is a pertinent theme at this current period of the coronavirus. These two articles clearly indicate that the biblical concept of health consists as it does of the welfare, health, and prosperity of the individual person as well as of communities as a whole. Individuals are always part of the communities they belong to.

Using lessons learned from building health-competent faith communities and responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, African church leaders are doing their best to help their communities cope with the novel coronavirus.

The WCC Executive Committee will meet online on 1-3 June, while the WCC Central Committee meeting has been postponed until June 2021.

As the UN secretary-general António Guterres shared a message on 12 May with religious leaders about how our shared vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic reveals our common humanity, World Council of Churches (WCC) leaders agreed that solidarity is a foundation of a meaningful global response.

As the world lurches through the coronavirus pandemic and its wide-ranging consequences, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will publish sets of resources for individuals, groups and faith communities to grapple spiritually with the new reality and come to terms with its meaning for their lives.

In a 5 May message entitled “The Story of our Pacific Household in the ‘New Normal,’ ” the Pacific Conference of Churches acknowledges those risking their lives to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

The Lutheran World Federation and Islamic Relief Worldwide issued on 11 May a call on all parties to lay down arms, institute an immediate ceasefire, and ensure humanitarian access in order to protect people from COVID-19.

Rabbi Mark Dratch is the executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America. Below, he reflects on what has inspired him amid the pain of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how we can work together to create a redeemed world.

In historic Nidaros Cathedral, the ancient shrine and pilgrimage destination of medieval Trondheim, the Church of Norway on Sunday, 10 May 2020, consecrated the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit as bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros and installed him as Preses or presiding bishop of its Bishops’ Conference.

Africa is of huge concern around the novel coronavirus pandemic for the World Health Organization (WHO), but the continent’s churches have been preparing for the silent and lethal virus for some time.

Former Bossey student Rev. Jianmei Jing who works at the Jingling Protestant Church in Hongkou near Shanghai in China has shown that masking your intention can be a truly Christian act. At significant sacrifice during the current COVID-19 pandemic when they were in short supply, she managed to get hold of 300 face masks and sent them to the Bossey community who she knew needed them in Switzerland.

The film “Off the Road,” directed by Jose Permar, has been awarded by the interreligious jury at the 51st Festival Visions du Réel Nyon, held from 17 April through 2 May.

A “Working Together” online meeting is convening this week to provide consultation between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its round table partners and specialized ministries, including the ACT Alliance.

Among the most vulnerable amid COVID-19 in Asia and the Arabian Gulf are migrant workers – especially those who are semi-skilled, those employed in domestic work, and those in labour camps. Internal migrant workers and overseas workers across Asia are among the many who are bearing the worst brunt of the pandemic’s consequences, agreed speakers in a virtual conference facilitated by the Christian Conference of Asia.

Religious leaders and faith-based organizations have released a call to prayer as people in Africa continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent joyful greetings via a video message to Focolare youth who are about to celebrate Unity Week 2020.

National, religious and ethnic borders are of no relevance to the COVID-19 virus. As we watch its effect on the entire world, we are reminded of the interconnectedness of the entire human family.

As the UN warns that the coronavirus pandemic is pushing millions to the brink if starvation in a “widespread famine of biblical proportions,” a senior Christian leader in Africa has emphasised that it is possible to beat hunger, a yoke that enslaves many in the continent.

The Conference of European Churches Thematic Group on Human Rights has reflected on freedom of religion or belief during the fight against COVID-19.