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.
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.
The Catholic Church and the WCC deepen their cooperation
The Joint Working Group between the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, first set up in 1965, met at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey from 1 to 3 September.
Reformation Sunday resources for 2026
The World Communion of Reformed Churches released worship resources for Reformation Sunday, 25 October, on the theme “Led by the Spirit: Persevering in Witness, Reforming Hope”, prepared under the worship planner Gerardo Oberman.
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.
Join the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation and Unity
The WCC has opened a webpage of resources for churches taking part in its Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation and Unity, which grew out of the pilgrimage begun in 2013 and was renewed at the 2022 assembly in Karlsruhe.
Na Laca, a new newsletter from Pasifika Communities University
Pasifika Communities University launched Na Laca (“The Sails”), its new newsletter, in September.
125 years since Presbyterian church union
The Presbyterian Research Centre has mounted a display in the Hewitson Wing of Knox College, Dunedin, marking 125 years since the Northern and Southern Presbyterian churches in New Zealand united in 1901.
Methodist and Uniting Church women gather in Auckland
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland hosted the 15th World Assembly of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women from 25 to 29 August, on the theme “Arise and Shine for the Glory of God is Upon You”, from Isaiah 60:1.
Weaving an Indigenous thread into the World Methodist Council
About 180 people from the worldwide Methodist family met in San Salvador from 13 to 17 August for the World Methodist Council meeting, on the theme “The Kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”, and visited places connected with Archbishop Óscar Romero.
Taizé’s European Meeting in Łódź
The Taizé Community has published the programme for its 49th European Meeting, to be held in Łódź, Poland, from 28 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 at the invitation of local churches of several denominations.
A comic for Orthodox children
Eli and the Little Saints is a new monthly comic from the St Thomas Indian Orthodox Church in Germany, part of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, which introduces children to Orthodox prayer and tradition through a fictional priest, Fr Eli.
A documentary about Taizé
Taizé: A Pilgrimage of Trust follows nine teenagers from a youth group in Massachusetts, some Catholic and some Protestant, as they discover the Taizé Community in France.
Fiji’s Parliament passes the Pasifika Communities University Bill
Fiji’s Parliament passed the Pasifika Communities University Bill at its third reading on 25 August, with support from all sides of the House, giving a legal footing to the regional university that has grown out of the Pacific Theological College.
Pope Leo writes to the Methodist and Waldensian Synod
The Synod of the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches in Italy met in Torre Pellice, in Piedmont, from 22 to 26 August, and Pope Leo XIV sent the synod his good wishes.
The WCC turns 78
Marking the WCC’s seventy-eighth anniversary, general secretary Rev.
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”.
Tim Pratt retires from Christian World Service
Rev.
A WCC lecture in Sydney on memory and healing
Rev.
Beyond Small Talk: conversations across difference in Taranaki
Writing in the August Friends Newsletter, Margy-Jean Malcolm described Beyond Small Talk, an initiative of Taranaki Quakers that helps people practise respectful conversation across difference.
With the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu
Rev.