World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay received H.E. Ambassador Amira Hanania, a Palestinian diplomat and media veteran who serves as the representative of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Europe. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay received H.E. Muneera Naoufal Aldosari, executive director of the King Hamad Global Center for Coexistence and Tolerance, in the Kingdom of Bahrain, on 1 October. Aldosari was accompanied by Ebrahim Anwar Albalooshi, international cooperation specialist.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Geneva Assembly of Churches organised an evening of testimonies in Geneva on 1 October. The special event provide a direct platform for those on the ground who are holding fast to hope and building peace in their daily lives.

The 2026 Right Livelihood Award is honoring women and women-led organisations confronting the world’s most entrenched power structures: authoritarian rule, patriarchal violence, and unchecked AI development. 

A Season of Creation closing event on 4 October will prayerfully consider this year’s theme, "Living Water" (Ezekiel 47:9, 12): "Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live . . . Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing" (NRSV).

As he visited Korea for a public theology conference, World Council of Churches central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm not only delivered lectures at the conference, but also participated in media interviews, spoke to students, and shared insights in many other ways. 

During a sermon at the Great Church of Debrecen, given on 27 September, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay preached on “The Church: Standing Firm in Faith, Walking Forward in Hope.”

UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda was received by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and other ecumenical and faith-based organizations on 29 September. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Ecumenical Education and Formation (EEF) will meet at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey from 4 to 9 October, bringing together members for a week of reflection, evaluation, and planning around the future of ecumenical education and formation.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern about the renewed escalation of hostilities in Tigray and neighbouring areas of northern Ethiopia. 

Tamatoa Tepuhiarii of Moruroa e Tātou nongovernmental organization and the Ètārētia Porotetani Māòhi (the Māòhi Protestant Church), currently pursuing PhD research on Nuclear Justice and Gender in the Sea of Islands (Pacific), was among the speakers at the World Council of Churches (WCC) cohosted side event at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, addressing the human rights impacts of nuclear testing across the region. In this conversation, the WCC 11th Assembly youth delegate shares his view on the unique role churches can play in the pursuit of nuclear justice today.

Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, moderator of the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission, took time to reflect on the upcoming meeting in Lund, and how the outcomes from the world conference in Egypt will inform the gathering. 

An interreligious dialogue on “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” on 28 September—the third in a series—offered a focus from Roman Catholic and Anglican perspectives. 

A new Global Ecumenical Indigenous Women’s Theological Network has been launched within the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) programme, creating a dedicated global space for Indigenous women theologians, scholars and emerging leaders to connect, collaborate and strengthen their contribution to theological education and the ecumenical movement.

The Arab Educational Institute and Pax Christi, through special activities for women and children, connected the World Council of Churches World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel with the Season of Creation.

Students and faculty joined a local parishes and surrounding communities to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pilly sent a hearty congratulations to Rev. Dr Gabriele Hoerschelmann, who was appointed as the new general secretary of the Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag.

In a video message shared with the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm reiterated the WCC’s solidarity with the people and churches of Papua. 

During an International Ecumenical Conference at Pannonhalma, Hungary, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay attended Holy Mass in St Martin’s Basilica, visited with students in the Assembly Hall of the Benedictine Secondary School, participated in a roundtable discussion with Hungarian bishops, and offered a lecture as well as a homily. 

Members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) commissions and reference groups working on Life, Justice, and Peace will gather in Chiang Mai from 4 to 10 October to discern how churches can respond together to the defining challenges of a fractured world.