World Council of Churches

Climate finance, the money that helps countries cut emissions and cope with impacts, should come as grants, not debt-creating loans, demanded faith-based organizations at the UN Human Rights Council as COP31 in Antalya, Turkey approaches. "Climate Finance for Human Rights, Resilience, and Justice", held in Geneva on 7 September, was convened by Franciscans International, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and six other partners.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) received the visit of Nini Sandborg, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights adviser on torture prevention and Dr Susan Kerr, head of the Human Rights Department at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, general secretary of the ACT Alliance, recently visited Colombia and Venezuela in the wake of earthquakes in both countries. He reflects on the humanitarian work—and why communities are ready to lead it.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Regional Ecumenical Theological Institute (RETI) Latin America has been announced for 2027. Prof. Dr Ani Ghazaryan Drissi, WCC programme executive for Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) and coordinator of the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) and RETI, reflects on her hopes for the new regional initiative, and how you can get involved. 

A session at the Greenbelt Festival in the UK covered “Stop Funding the Climate Crisis: Christians Holding Banks Accountable.” A panel of speakers discussed how churches, including the Methodist Church, are turning to legal action to challenge those financing environmental harm. 

An annual gathering of World Council of Churches (WCC) retirees, along with retirees from the Lutheran World Federation and other sister organizations, was held on 7 September. Participants heard the latest WCC news, prayed together, and enjoyed a birthday cake commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. 

An International Ecumenical Peace Convocation will convene 9-13 September in Seoul, Republic of Korea, under the theme “World Peace and the Korean Peninsula: The Church as a Community of Healing, Reconciliation, and Peacebuilding.”

The third drop-in session of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Officers Network, held on 3 September, focused on churches’ engagement with climate justice and the Season of Creation. 

A communique issued at the close of the plenary meeting of the Joint Working Group between the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church explains the mandate of the working groups, marks the 80th anniversary of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, and expresses gratitude.   

Rivers that carry plastic to the sea. Wells turning salt as the ocean rises. Taps that run dry where children walk far for water. These were prayed for on 1 September, at the service opening the 2026 Season of Creation under the theme "Living Water" from Ezekiel 47. "We are surrounded by water," said Rev. James Bhagwan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, "but something within humanity has become dry."

For 11 days in Ulaanbaatar, the World Council of Churches (WCC) made one argument in five different events: degraded land will not be restored without the communities who already hold it. It closed on 25 August, with churches in front of investors, then farmers.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) led workshops at the Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) in Brussels, Belgium, held from 29 August to 2 September. The sessions focused on the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (2025–2034) — the WCC's ten-year commitment, launched in 2025. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) 2026 Ecumenical Formation Seminar will be held 7-11 September, offering staff in specialized ministries the opportunity to get to know the ecumenical movement and its organizational expressions. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has opened a new webpage dedicated to the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity, offering churches, ecumenical organizations, and communities a comprehensive collection of resources for walking, praying, and acting together.

In a statement, the Christian Schools in Jerusalem urged the renewal of permits for teachers and staff so that students can safety attend school.

As part of the commemorations of its 80th anniversary, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey held a webinar on 1 September bringing together alumni, former teaching staff and the institute’s current academic leadership to reflect on Bossey’s contribution to global ecumenism.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended heartfelt congratulations to Rev. Dr Mauro de Souza, who was elected as president of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil, beginning in 2027. 

Rev. Merlyn Hyde Riley, vice moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, shares what she valued about her experience at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey—and why Bossey is still vital for formation today.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment on 1 September with a message describing the ecological crisis as "a crisis of human freedom, of our religion and philosophy, of our ethos and our culture." He called on humanity to build a shared "body of common fundamental values" rooted in solidarity.

Luzia Wehrle served at the World Council of Churches (WCC) for four decades. She reflects on how she came to work at the WCC in 1969 at the age of 23; the visits of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement; and why she believes nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.