World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches (WCC) commemoration International Ecumenical Youth Day, observed 13 August, brought together online young people from across the globe who explored the theme “Creating Healing Spaces: R.E.S.T. – Restore, Empower, Strengthen, Thrive.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) communications team is conducting a survey, inviting readers to contribute their thoughts on what they read most, what inspires them, and ideas on what new stories and resources they would use.

The North America–Turtle Island Regional Ecumenical Theological Institute (NATI-RETI) is currently bringing together 20 emerging theologians and ecumenical leaders from Canada and the United States for two weeks of intensive learning, prayer, encounter, and community life.

What a government owes to foreign lenders, what it collects in tax, and what it receives to cope with climate change decide how much is left for public services. From 17–28 August, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will bring 22 church leaders to Panama City to study those systems and learn how to argue for changing them. It is called the GEM School, the Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics, and Management for an Economy of Life.

The World Social Forum – a global gathering of civil-society and social-movement groups – returned to Africa for the first time since 2015. Its 17th gathering ran in Cotonou, Benin, from 4-8 August, under the slogan "Another World is Possible." A World Council of Churches (WCC) mission of around 20 West African church leaders and partners took part.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will host a webinar series, starting in September, exploring the Theology of Companionship: a way of walking together with mutuality, shared vulnerability, and accountable relationships—even across unequal power.

The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations is appealing for churches everywhere to join a Worldwide Prayer for Ukraine on 24 August, which also marks the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence.

The editorial team of Ralf Becker, Rev. Karen Hinrichs, Prof. Dr Heinrich Schäfer, and Dr Theodor Ziegler are presenting “If you want peace, go and talk to your enemy: An Ecumenical Peace Treatise–2026.”

Taybeh, the only remaining Christian village in the West Bank, includes Christian archaeology dating back to the Roman era and early Christianity. Located in the Ramallah area of the West Bank, the village’s population has dwindled to 1,200 people, all of them Christians. During the 1980s, the population was around 3,000 people.

In a message of greetings to the Ecumenical International Youth Day event on 13 August, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay reflected on the day’s theme, “Creating Healing Spaces: R.E.S.T. – Restore, Empower, Strengthen, Thrive.”

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended congratulations to Rev. Janet Anstead, who has been appointed as the new general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches.

Nanu Martin, a climate journalist and ecumenist, shared the news that the World Council of Churches (WCC) Thursdays in Black campaign was introduced and promoted during a Climate Education and Capacity Building Programme held at Odisha Christian Theological College, Gopalpur, Odisha, India.

From 3-8 August, the South African Council of Churches, in partnership with the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa, welcomed church leaders from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, and Eswatini for a regional solidarity visit to South Africa.

Rev. Dr Murombedzi Chikanga Kuchera, former general secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), former president of the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe and former chair of the National AIDS Council, passed away on 8 August in Harare. He was 81.

In a letter to the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed a deep and shared sorrow for communities affected by the recent earthquake in Colombia. 

A New Horizon Europe project brought together 13 partners from nine countries to explore how shared holy places can strengthen social cohesion, intercultural understanding, and sustainable peace-building across Europe.

As the global climate crisis accelerates faster than collective response and new conflicts slice attention, African church leaders are highlighting the need to increase action, as the emergency hurts their congregations.

Dr. Ramon Tallaj is chairman of the board and founder of SOMOS Community Care. “SOMOS,” which means “we are” in Spanish, is a physician-led network of 2,600 healthcare providers serving over 850,000 Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries in New York City’s immigrant communities. Tallaj reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of the family doctor, and how faith has played a large role in his life and work.

World Council of Churches (WCC) member church, the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, and ecumenical organizations in Colombia are mobilizing in solidarity with communities affected by a powerful earthquake that struck the western and central parts of the country on 10 August.

World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern regarding the current situation affecting the Armenian Apostolic Church.