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Sermon by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches at the Opening service of Lenten campaign “Seven Weeks for Water” on 1 March 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke on 16 January at the Peace Vigil for Justice at Kirche St Johann, in Davos, organized by the Committee of Christian Churches in Davos, in support of International Bridges to Justice.

Sermon by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit at an ecumenical Ash Wednesday service at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem

Theme: The soil and our faith. These wonderful texts about the power of life are really about the earth, the soil, the black dirt...

Sermon from Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary, at the 2nd Sunday of Advent, Ecumenical Advent Prayer for Peace
Kyoto Catholic Cathedral, Kyoto, Japan.

Reflection by Bishop Duleep de Chickera from the Anglican Church of Sri Lanka, presented at the WCC 10th Assembly during the theme plenary.

Bible study on Acts 8:26-40 by Eleni Kasselouri-Hatzivassiliadi for the WCC Assembly, 4 November 2013: The text relates the mission of the Spirit to the symbol of the water of life. The Holy Spirit is the Life-giver, who sustains and empowers life and sends out God’s people to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. How and where do we discern God’s life-giving work, and how are we enabled to participate in God’s mission today?

Bible study on Amos 5:14-24 by Katie G. Cannon for the WCC Assembly, 1 November 2013: Asia is the continent of suffering and hope. On the one hand, the text focuses on people’s suffering and struggle for justice; on the other hand, it provides a vision of the reign of God. Moreover, it suggests concrete ways in which to live out kingdom values on earth through the achievement of justice and peace. Wrestling with the text to find ways to transform suffering, tears and despair into liberation, joy and hope, in the Bible and in our context, is the focus.

Bible study on Genesis 2:4b-17 by Jione Havea for the WCC Assembly, 31 October 2013: The God of life created human beings from the earth with God’s breath of life. The very nature of human life is in connection with God and creation. God entrusted us with the mission to look after the garden of life and forbad us to eat the fruits that tempt us to be like the Almighty God. The opening Bible study is a reflection on the nature of life and how to celebrate, sustain and affirm it in relation to the theme of the assembly. Diverse contextual readings of the text are possible.

On 7 December at the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), while no agreement has been reached, the World Council of Churches (WCC) delivered a statement to the High-Level Ministerial Segment of COP 18 in Doha, Qatar. The WCC statement delivered to the plenary stressed that “Climate change is happening! It is imperative to act now without more delays in view of the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of climate change.” The statement was read by Metropolitan Serafim of Zimbabwe, from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.

The WCC, WCRC and Council for World Mission (CWM) convened the Global Ecumenical Conference on a New Financial and Economic Architecture to engage diverse proponents, set criteria and framework and develop a plan of action and milestones towards constructing just, caring and sustainable global financial and economic structures.

As a follow-up to the Alternative Globalization Addressing People and Earth (AGAPE) process, which concluded with the AGAPE Call presented at the WCC 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre in 2006, the WCC initiated a programme focused on eradicating poverty, challenging wealth accumulation and safeguarding ecological integrity based on the understanding that Poverty, Wealth and Ecology are integrally related. The AGAPE Call to Action is the result of a six-year process of consultations and regional studies.

Sermon on "Discipleship amidst the Unknown"at United Methodist Church, Tampa, US on 1 May

Since COP1, year after year, the World Council of Churches have spoken on behalf of hundreds of churches, church based organisations, ecumenical movements, and faith based movements throughout the world, that work daily with communities whose lives and livelihoods are severely affected by climate change.

Following up on their earlier calls for nuclear disarmament, four global, regional and national ecumenical organizations told leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union and Russia that NATO and its member states should seize the opportunity of the Defence and Deterrence Review in 2011 to take bold steps and end the anachronistic policy of nuclear sharing including the deployment of United States tactical nuclear weapons in Europe.

The WCC Central Committee, meeting in Geneva 16-22 February 2011, approved this Statement on water as a human right.

Statement of Indigenous theologians from different parts of the world, who met in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, on networking with the Commission on Faith and Order and its various working areas.

Statement of Indigenous theologians from different parts of the world, who met in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, for dialogue and exchange of knowledge on issues around spirituality.

Statement from the World Council of Churches to the High-Level Ministerial Segment of the
16th Session of the Conference of the Parties - COP16 to the UNFCCC
6th Session of the Meeting of the Parties - CMP6 to the Kyoto Protocol
Cancun - Mexico
Friday, 10 December 2010