World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches staff gathered on 22 September to share and connect current initiatives addressing artificial intelligence. They discussed how the WCC uses AI, how to productively bring the discussion to WCC commissions and reference groups, and how to form a WCC staff task force on AI. They also discussed how best to contribute to planning a multidisciplinary symposium set for 15-19 February 2027.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Staff Planning Days, scheduled for 28 September through 2 October, will focus on implementing a new structure together. Setting aside regular work, the WCC staff will gather as a community to strengthen collaboration and renew their common commitment to engage the WCC fellowship of member churches on a Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity.

The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, on 19 September, issued an appeal to the World Council of Churches (WCC), Pope Leo XIV, the World Evangelical Alliance, and other religious leaders to raise their voices and use every available means to save several thousand residents of the occupied Oleshky in the Kherson Region of Ukraine, from death by starvation.

In a video message, World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm reflected on the theme of the World Week for Peace in Israel and Palestine, “Behold the children are a heritage from the Lord,” Psalm 127:3.

A panel discussion held at a conference organized by the Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism and the Church of Sweden, in Uppsala, Sweden on 17 September covered “Faith, Race, and Practice: Religious Engagement in the Global Context.”

The Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity Reference Group of the World Council of Churches (WCC) concluded its meeting in Vancouver, Canada, held from 17 to 22 September, affirming a strategic direction to broaden and deepen the pilgrimage across the life of the fellowship.

A UN Human Rights Office report published 18 September says sexual violence has been used against civilians and prisoners of war in Ukraine in a pattern of torture, intimidation, and coercion since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale armed attack on its neighbour more than four years ago.

World Council of Churches general secretary began a visit to Hungary by offering a lecture in Debrechen on 24 September. Exploring “Church in Changing landscapes: God’s Mission and Our Own,” Pillay reflected on how the current context should influence the mission of the churches.

As the Holy Land goes through one of the darkest periods in its history, the local Christian community feels abandoned by the international community. Faced with widespread destruction and forced displacement, the local churches are issuing an appeal: to see reality as it is experienced, beyond diplomatic and media filters.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared warm greetings for the 180th anniversary of World Evangelical Alliance. 

For Rev. Dr. Manhong Lin, Bossey was more than a place of study. The General Secretary of the China Christian Council and Professor and Doctoral Advisor of Christian Ethics, Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, reflects on what she valued about her experience—and why Bossey still matters today.

Dr Liza B. Lamis is executive secretary of the International Committee for the Fellowship of the Least Coin. She reflects on the collaboration with the World Council of Churches, and the importance of Thursdays in Black. 

A Lantern for Peace—which remembers the victims of atomic bombings—has arrived at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The lantern is among 22 sent by the city of Hiroshima to International Geneva, the City of Peace, and the headquarters of the United Nations. The lanterns, accompanied by messages prepared by young citizens of Hiroshima, were distributed among organizations in Geneva, including the WCC.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed a gathering at the Oxford Law School on 17 September, reflecting on the topic “Orthodoxy and Human Rights.”

Prayers rang for the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel during a special service in the Ecumenical Centre for World Council of Churches (WCC) staff, partners, and visitors on 22 September. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), on 16 September, hosted a group from the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) of the United Methodist Church. The visitors received a welcome to the WCC, then entered into a conversation with WCC staff on global migration issues within the European context.

World Council of Churches president from North America-Turtle Island Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, on 21 September, joined other religious leaders offering prayers before the official opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. 

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will speak at the Pannonhalma Archabbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hungary, as part of symposium being held 25-26 September.

A prayer walk in Vancouver, Canada on 20 September brought a grassroots lens to the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. 

Prof. Dr Richard Topping is president and vice chancellor at the Vancouver School of Theology, where the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity Reference Group is meeting. He took time to reflect on the nature of ecumenism at the Vancouver School of Theology, what it means to host the WCC gathering, and his hopes for stronger ties with the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.