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Among the massive social dislocations caused by the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps none is as plaintive as those to churches. Around the world, church gatherings, liturgies, fellowship, and service projects have been canceled or postponed or migrated online, precisely when Christian communities and those who rely on them need them most.

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt around the globe, a WCC website Q&A now provides guidance and highlights good practices on key concerns from member churches and partners all over the world.

Norwegian churches added their voice to the chorus of concern for the people of the Amazon as the coronavirus increasingly spreads. In a letter to the Brazilian embassy, the Church of Norway and the Roman Catholic Church in Norway jointly expressed deep solidarity with the people of Brazil.

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.

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.

A WCC support team is online and ready to help WCC member churches as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. The team—comprised of experts in different facets of faith-related pandemic response—is here for you, said WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca. “These are people who can serve as a tremendous support to the WCC fellowship,” said Sauca.

WCC ambassadors of the Thursdays in Black campaign are standing behind a joint statement that urges both awareness and protection from the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and gender-based violence.

Bishop Staccato Powell is president of the board of bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a founding member church of the World Council of Churches (WCC). His long service with the WCC includes attending four assemblies and serving on many governing bodies, including the current Central Committee.

The World Association for Christian Communication is creating a rapid response fund to help support grassroots community media outlets that provide accurate, trusted coronavirus-related information to vulnerable people who often cannot access mainstream media. Individuals and organisations are encouraged to contribute to the fund.

It’s tough living at home in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic watching those infected with the COVID-19 virus rise in numbers and the death toll climb. But think of the world’s refugees and people on the move.

In a joint letter to US president Donald Trump, the World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, and National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA have urged the US to lift crippling sanctions against Iran that are greatly impeding response in that nation to COVID-19.

Prof. Christoph Stückelberger is president and founder of globethics.net. This interview was first published and produced in German by Reformiert.info

The World Health Organization has published “Practical considerations and recommendations for religious leaders and faith-based communities in the context of COVID-19,” a document and risk assessment tool for religious leaders, faith-based organizations, and faith communities in COVID-19 education, preparedness, and response.

Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen is general secretary of the Conference of European Churches. On 26 March, the WCC and Regional Ecumenical Organizations released a historic joint pastoral statement affirming the urgency of standing together to protect life amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCC has since been gathering viewpoints from diverse regions about the importance of taking care of our one human family.

In a historic joint pastoral statement released on 26 March, the World Council of Churches and Regional Ecumenical Organizations affirmed the urgency of standing together to protect life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WCC is offering member churches some resources with a human face during the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of eight resource people has been made available to consult on how churches can discern their roles during the coronavirus pandemic, how they can adapt as faith communities, and how they can connect and share with each other.

In a pastoral letter to WCC member churches and ecumenical partners, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and WCC moderator Dr Agnes Abuom urged people to give highest priority to “doing whatever we can do to protect life” and “This is a time to touch each other’s hearts, by what we say, what we share, what we do – and what we do not do – to protect the life God loves so much.”

As the world grapples with the spread of the new coronavirus, churches are finding ways to continue their traditions, but now by virtual means. On the coming Sabbath, churches around the world will engage in prayer, not publicly – as the church moves out of big public buildings – but inside the private spaces of homes.

In the past several months, beginning with an epidemic that quickly became an emergency situation, COVID-19 has escalated into a global crisis, spreading fear and uncertainty everywhere.

The WCC, via a specific landing page on its website, is reaching out to the worldwide fellowship with a sense of pastoral care amid the coronavirus pandemic.