WCC News: WCC decade links climate crisis and violent conflict

Climate action is a pathway to peace, not merely an environmental necessity. That was the central message Athena Peralta, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, brought to Hamburg, Germany, on 16–17 April, as she presented the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action at the conference "Ecology of Peace – Eco-Theological Perspectives in Times of Global Crisis," organized by the Academy for International Ecumenism at the University of Hamburg. 3 December 2023, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 'Stop the wars, stop the warming,' reads a sign as people gather at the United Nations climate summit COP28 for an advocacy action undertaken by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) to highlight the issue of militarism in relation to CO2 emmissions and the climate crisis.  Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert’ 22 April 2026 Peralta named the crisis plainly. "We are living in an age increasingly described as a poly-crisis, a convergence of multiple, interlocking emergencies that cannot be understood or addressed in isolation," she said. "Climate breakdown, widening inequality, and escalating violent conflict are not separate phenomena; they are deeply entangled, each intensifying the others. Amid these converging crises, climate action emerges not only as an environmental necessity, but as a pathway to peace." Rev. Prof. Dr Fernando Enns went further. A member of the WCC executive committee and representative of the Association of Mennonite Congregations in Germany, Enns challenged the theological establishment directly: church statements on peace, he argued, persistently neglect ecological dimensions despite clear evidence of a cycle in which ecological destruction feeds violent conflict, and conflict in turn deepens environmental collapse. Drawing on research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on Afghanistan (April 2026), he mapped how climate change exacerbates the dynamics of ongoing violence, weakens community resilience, and amplifies existing tensions. His conclusion was categorical: that climate change might yet prove to be the most radical theological teacher humanity has encountered, demanding a deeper understanding of God's shalom, the Hebrew vision of whole and flourishing peace, for all of creation. Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz argued that living nature holds rights and challenged the Global North, which has contributed most to emissions, to provide genuine compensation and restoration. He reframed the entire conversation: this is not climate change, he insisted, but an earth crisis. Peace, he added, is not the absence of conflict but the highest state of tension that an organism can creatively sustain its creative management, not its suppression. Caroline Kruckow of Brot für die Welt showed the connection in concrete terms, drawing on projects in Peru and Sudan where local mediators have helped communities restore both social cohesion and degraded land. Dr Brighton Katabaro introduced Agrartheology, a discipline that bridges eco-theology and agro-ecology by naming what he identified as the systematic separation of soil from soul. Prof. Dr Claudia Jahnel of the University of Hamburg presented the Evangelical Church in Germany's new position paper, anchoring an "ethics of enough" in spirituality. Maria, a theology student, said she found courage in the belief that there was still hope, that together, people could do something to counter the sometimes-depressing destruction of the Earth. She was one of many students whose attendance conference participants found heartening. Climate justice theology, the gathering concluded, is a spiritual matter. Its findings are to be published by the Academy for International Ecumenism and will be available as open access. Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet: Afghanistan (2026) Academy for International Ecumenism (in German) Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action Peace-building: Conflict transformation & Reconciliation See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC news: WCC champions water as a human right on Earth Day 2026

On 20 April, two days before UN Mother Earth Day, faith leaders and practitioners from across the world gathered for the latest session of the "Healing the Earth 2026" interfaith webinar series, co-organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and United Religions Initiative Europe.  Women gather at a community water tap in Salang, a village in the Dhading District of Nepal where Dan Church Aid, a member of the ACT Alliance, has provided a variety of support to local villagers in the wake of a devastating 2015 earthquake. The village's water system was destroyed by the quake, forcing women to walk two hours or more to a nearby river to fetch water. Working with a local organization, the Forum for Awareness and Youth Activity, the ACT Alliance rebuilt the village's water system. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth Pictures 22 April 2026 Among the presenters was Dinesh Suna, WCC programme executive for Land, Water, and Food and coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network. His message was direct: water is not a commodity. It is a gift of God, a public good, and a fundamental human right, and faith communities can no longer afford to treat it as anything less. The webinar brought participants from across the world to confront a water justice crisis that is, Suna argued, as much about rights as it is about supply. The numbers bear this out: humanity is consuming the equivalent of 1.8 Earths each year, according to the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts 2025 Edition, while over 1.9 billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water and more than 3.4 billion lack adequate sanitation, according to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. None of this, Suna made clear, is simply a problem of scarcity. It is a problem of injustice. "We can no longer work in silos," he told participants, pointing to three United Nations summits in 2026 on climate change, biodiversity, and land and desertification. Emerging from the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, each targets a different dimension of the planetary crisis. Water runs through all three. "We only have one earth. Let's protect it." The Ecumenical Water Network, established in 2006 by a mandate of the WCC 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has built its work on a single theological conviction: water is a gift of God, a public good, and a fundamental human right. That conviction drives the network's opposition to water privatization, its annual Seven Weeks for Water Lenten campaign, and its advocacy for universal access to safe water by 2030. Suna also highlighted the WCC's Blue Community commitment, a pledge to champion publicly financed, accountable water systems, as a model for faith institutions ready to take that conviction off the page. Both commitments sit within the WCC's Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (2025–2034), which designates 2026 as its Climate and Biodiversity thematic year. Suna left participants with a call for action: "Mother Earth does not belong to us; we belong to her. On this day, let us recommit ourselves to healing, restoration, and justice. Let our faith translate into action, not next year, not tomorrow, but today." The "Healing the Earth 2026" series, coordinated by URI Europe with the Asha Centre, Middlesex University London, TiA, Unity in Diversity, DME, and URI UK, gathers every third Monday at 17:00 CET via Zoom.  Register for future webinars here   WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP)  Earth Overshoot Day Ecumenical Water Network Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action Honoring Mother Earth - URI Earth Healing Interfaith Webinar See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

Living into Right Relations: April 2026

Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice News from The United Church of Canada A Call to the Church: Mobilize for Moose Hide This May!  [Image credit: Moose Hide Campaign Day]   Mother God, Beloved Christ and Sister Spirit,  May this moose hide  remind me of my commitment  to create and live in a society where Indigenous women, girls, and 2S-LGBTQIA+ people experience  the freedom to flourish within a healthy society that respects, values and cherishes the human rights and dignity of all people.  May I join with others to be a part of your healing and restoration.  Amen  This prayer, offered by the Rev. Dr. Alydia Smith, is a call to all in The United Church of Canada to participate in the Moosehide Campaign Day on Thursday, May 14!  Canada is in the midst of an ongoing national crisis of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2S-LGBTQIA+ people. Canada has a long legacy of devaluing Indigenous peoples—in particular Indigenous women, girls, and 2S-LGBTQIA+ people.  Many believe that they do not matter, and that it is acceptable to commit acts of violence upon them. Indigenous peoples lack the legal protection that others receive. This is racism.   The Moose Hide Campaign is a call to all people in Canada to take a stand against racism and for justice. This year we are hoping for a record United Church turn-out at the virtual events, local walks to end violence, and fasts to end violence.   National events include a sunrise ceremony, educational plenary, and workshops (all available via livestream).  Local marches are being organized across the country. Find your local march on the map, or register to become a community steward and organize your own events.  We are calling on United Church members, friends, and communities of faith to take a stance against racism and for justice.  Join us at Queen’s Park. If you are in Southern Ontario, we encourage your community of faith to join us on the grounds of the Ontario Legislature from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. for the national rally. The United Church of Canada contingent will be meeting at the southeast corner of the park, near Queen’s Park Crescent East and Wellesley Street West at 11:45 a.m. If you are elsewhere across the country, join in local marches or organize your own!  Stay tuned to this newsletter, the Indigenous Ministries Facebook page and United Church social media for updates!  Thank you for standing in solidarity. To help us capture our collective witness for Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people, please take 60 seconds to share how your community is participating in the Moose Hide Campaign. Report your event. Facebook Website Email Instagram YouTube Donate to The United Church of Canada and help fund life changing work around the world!

Copyright © 2026 The United Church of Canada, All rights reserved.

WCC News: “We want to do everything possible so that the world will not forget Ukraine”

On 20 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, together with Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, and Rev. Prof. Dr Vasile-Octavian Mihoc, WCC programme executive for Ecumenical Relations and Faith and Order, met online with representatives of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.  St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 21 April 2026 The purpose of the meeting was to receive updates on the current situation in Ukraine, particularly concerning ecclesial life, and to explore avenues for continued cooperation in promoting peace and solidarity. From the outset, Pillay expressed strong solidarity with the churches and people of Ukraine. He recalled the WCC’s sustained efforts for justice and peace, including previous visits and ongoing initiatives, reaffirming the WCC’s commitment to accompanying Ukrainian churches in their witness and service during this time of war. Current situation in Ukraine Members of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations addressed the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with particular attention to its impact on churches and religious communities. The chairman of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, Bishop Sándor Zán Fábián of the Transcarpathian Reformed Church, highlighted ongoing inter-confessional efforts to remain united and resilient. He expressed gratitude for the continued prayers and support provided by churches, international institutions, and partners. Special attention was given to the challenges faced by faith communities, especially in the occupied territories. Solidarity visit The WCC expressed its intention to undertake a solidarity visit to Ukraine in the near future. This proposal was warmly received, and Ukrainian church leaders committed to assisting in any way possible to facilitate such a visit. They emphasized the importance of this gesture as a visible sign of international support and accompaniment for Ukrainian churches and society. July, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, or August were mentioned as possible timeframes. Global Prayer for Peace The WCC presented a proposal to organize a Global Prayer for Peace in Ukraine. The initiative was received positively, with participants expressing openness to collaboration and coordination with Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations member churches. Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, Ordinary of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, stressed: “We want to do everything possible so that the world will not forget Ukraine. Prayer is the most powerful way to sustain awareness.” Strengthened collaboration The meeting took place in a constructive and cooperative spirit, marked by a shared commitment to deepening collaboration between the WCC and the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations. Both WCC representatives and Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations members agreed to intensify their channels of communication and to ensure regular updates on the challenges faced by Ukrainian churches. Particular and immediate focus will be placed on the preparation of the Global Prayer for Peace in Ukraine and the organization of a solidarity visit. In this context, WCC and Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations will engage in further consultations to assess the practical arrangements for such a visit, while continuing close coordination on the Global Prayer for Peace initiative. Ongoing communication between WCC and Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations will be maintained to support these efforts and ensure sustained cooperation. WCC gravely concerned over report regarding crimes against Ukrainian children (WCC news release, 20 March 2026) Ukrainian churches hold National Day of Prayer for just peace (WCC news release, 24 February 2026) Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) Participants of the online meeting between the World Council of Churches and the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, 20 April 2026. Photo: WCC See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland