WCC News: How much is enough? WCC launches Lenten fast on climate and inequality

The World Council of Churches (WCC) invites faith communities worldwide to observe a Global Systemic Carbon Fast during Lent 2026 - a six-week journey examining how extractive industries drive both climate breakdown and economic inequality. 19 November 2025, Belém, Brazil: A group from Fridays for Future undertake a 'Mutirão' rally at the United Nations climate summit COP30 taking place in Belém, Brazil, on 10-21 November 2025, calling for a clear roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels.  Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert 16 February 2026 Running from 18 February through 1 April, the initiative provides weekly biblical reflections and actions addressing specific extractive industries: oil and gas drilling, mining, overfishing and logging, agroindustrial farming, and deep-sea mining. Each week is led by a regional ecumenical body, connecting local expertise with global solidarity. The fast reframes the ancient prayer "Give us today our daily bread" as both spiritual practice and structural critique, asking churches to name hidden systems - classism, racism, exploitation - that determine who has enough and who goes without. "When we pray 'Give us today our daily bread,' we are not asking for endless accumulation but for what sustains life today," said Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary. "This Lenten journey invites churches to examine both our personal choices and the economic structures that deny daily bread to millions while threatening the planet itself." Six weeks, six extractive systems The campaign launches 18 February with theological framing and an opening prayer centered on a "Theology of Enough," drawing on Proverbs 30:8-9: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." Each week includes biblical reflection, analysis of the specific industry's impacts, and concrete actions churches can take. Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, connected the fast to the newly launched Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action. "The Global Systemic Carbon Fast begins 2026 - the decade's first full year - by naming what drives both climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse: economic systems built on extraction and inequality," Peralta said. "We cannot address climate without addressing inequality. They are inseparable emergencies demanding inseparable responses." Theology of enough "When we pray the words 'Give us today our daily bread,' we affirm these needs in ourselves and in others," according to the theological framing. "We do not ask for bread for eternity or in overflowing abundance. This challenges the impulse to accumulate and over-consume.” The framing confronts not only personal lives but also economic and ecological structures at every level. Through this lens, enough resources exist for everyone - if they were shared. "Excessive wealth is a major cause of poverty, climate change, and biodiversity loss, and it is intensified by structures of classism, racism, sexism, and other forms of domination and structural violence," the framing states. Find the theological framing, weekly reflections, and participation resources Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action Event page here 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