WCC NEWS: WCC general secretary to UN Water Conference: “We believe that water is gift of God”

World Council of Churches (WCC) general sectary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay delivered a video message to the United Nations 2023 Water Conference on behalf of the global fellowship of 580 million Christians. The event will take place 22-24 March, in New York. An indigenous girl gets a drink in Pusthan, Nahuizalco, El Salvador, where community leaders have fought to protect their water resources. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth 14 March 2023 “I am delighted to note that—after almost 50 years, since the 1977 UN Water Conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on the World Water Day 2023, the United Nations is convening this Water Conference in its headquarters in New York,” said Pillay. “I want to make sure you know that the WCC is committed to water justice.” Since 2006, the WCC has provided leadership, spiritual direction, and solution-oriented dialogue through the Ecumenical Water Network.  “We believe that water is gift of God,” said Pillay. “A public good. A fundamental human right.” Pillay further noted that Christian communities are in the season of Lent, which is a time of  self-denial. “Two billion people around the world do not have access to safely managed drinking water and about 4 billion people do not have access to safely managed sanitation facilities,” he said. “We cannot turn a blind eye.” The WCC is currently offering a Lenten campaign, “Seven Weeks for Water,” to engage people in praying, reflecting, and acting to address the global water crisis.  “This UN Water Conference is a lifetime opportunity to make sure that by 2030, all people will have access to water and sanitation,” said Pillay, who urgently called for world leaders to respect and act for the human right to water; protect water defenders; engage faith communities in addressing the water crisis; and take other necessary steps.  To watch the message 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 352 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 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland