NEWS
News from our member churches and the wider ecumenical movement, with our monthly roundup and a library of stories from ecumenical bodies around the world.
Season of Creation closes, but the work goes on
The Season of Creation closed on 4 October, the feast of St Francis, with an online prayer service that gathered stories of care for creation from around the world and encouraged churches to keep that work going through the rest of the year.
General Synod puts the ocean first
Meeting in Nukuʻalofa in August, General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui unanimously passed a motion on ocean wellbeing, placing the health of the ocean at the top of the church’s care for creation.
Season of Creation opens with “Living Water”
The 2026 Season of Creation opened on 1 September with a service on the theme “Living Water”, from Ezekiel 47.
General Synod meets in Tonga for the first time
Opening the 67th General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui, the first to be held in the Kingdom of Tonga, Archbishops Don Tamihere, Justin Duckworth and Sione Ulu’ilakepa gave a joint charge on the theme “One Mission, One Ocean, One Vaka”.
Pacific resources for the Season of Creation
The Pacific Conference of Churches published its resource guide for the 2026 Season of Creation, which ran from 1 September to 4 October with the shared ecumenical theme “Living Water”, from Ezekiel 47.
Anglicans and Old Catholics compare notes
The Anglican-Old Catholic International Coordinating Council met in Vienna from 14 to 16 July, hosted by the Union of Utrecht at the Old Catholic parish of Vienna-East.
Asia Sunday 2026
Member churches and councils of the Christian Conference of Asia kept Asia Sunday on 17 May, with the theme “Hope for Redemption of Groaning Creation Amidst Bondage to Decay”.
Pacific churches launch a decade of climate justice action
During the Pacific Church Leaders’ Meeting, the churches launched an Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action at Togoru, on the coast of Fiji, where the sea takes more than a metre of land each year and families are preparing to move.
Sails of Hope sets out from Fiji
The Soko ni Nuinui (Sails of Hope) programme set out from Pacific Harbour in Fiji during Eastertide aboard the traditional voyaging canoe Uto Ni Yalo, aiming to train more than 1,400 people over 50 days at eight centres around Fiji before Pentecost.
A feast of creation for the whole church
More than 600 church leaders met online in March to explore the Feast of Creation, kept on 1 September or the Sunday after, which has its roots in the Eastern Orthodox calendar.
Seven Weeks for Water 2026
Every Lent since 2008 the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network has offered weekly reflections on water.
Building resilience in Tonga
Christian World Service announced a partnership with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tonga Community Development Trust to help communities in Tonga build resilience to repeated natural disasters.