Tag: World Council of Churches

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News & Announcements

Investment in fossil fuels off the table for WCC

During a recent meeting of the top governing body of the World Council of Churches (WCC), its Central Committee said “no” to investments in fossil fuels. Prior to this announcement  some member churches were already committed to the divestment of fossil fuels, including the United Church of Christ in the United States, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New  Zealand and Polynesia and the Church of Sweden.

In April last year, the Uniting Church Synod of New South Wales agreed to divest in fossil fuels and created national news. Other  churches around Australia are in talks about how they  too can divest. And in May of this year, people from all over Australia withdrew their investments from Australia’s ‘big four’ banks – ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac – choosing  to invest their money in more sustainable methods as part of Divestment Day, organised by Market Forces and 350.org.

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News & Announcements

WCC announces September Interfaith Summit on Climate Change

The World Council of Churches (WCC) announced it will hold an Interfaith Summit on Climate Change on September 21-22 in New York City. At the summit, organised together with Religions for Peace, more than 30 religious leaders will take a united stand to encourage international and political leaders to address concretely the causes and consequences of climate change.

The interfaith summit is being held immediately before the United Nations (UN) Climate Summit, called by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to galvanize and catalyze climate action, bringing bold announcements and actions that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015.

WCC members said they hoped their united voice would be also heard at the upcoming Conferences of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Lima in December 2014 and in Paris in 2015.

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News & Announcements

Chief governing body of the WCC begins its first meeting

Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary. Photo: Peter Williams WCC

The first full meeting of the new Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a chief governing body of the Council, began on 2 July in Geneva, Switzerland. Prayers, official addresses from the leadership of the WCC and welcome greetings from the Swiss churches marked the opening of the WCC Central Committee meeting – all set to focus on the theme ‘pilgrimage of justice and peace’ through the coming week.

The WCC Central Committee will hold meetings every two years until the next assembly. The committee which consists of 150 members from all global regions is responsible for carrying out the policies adopted by the WCC 10th Assembly, reviewing and supervising WCC programs and the budget of the Council. The 10th Assembly took place at Busan, Republic of Korea in October and November 2013.

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Stories & Feature Articles

On the way to justice and peace

The World Council of Churches 10th Assembly used blue and orange cards to facilitate their consensus model.

Growing up in the Uniting Church I always knew I was a part of the ‘one holy, catholic and apostolic church’ but never understood really what that meant and how it applied to my life. Recently I have had the opportunity of representing the Uniting Church in Australia as a delegate at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly in Busan, South Korea, from 30 October–8 November.

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