Each day of their gathering, the WCC executive committee gathered in daily prayers and various encounters with the students at the Ecumenical Institute. Public statements The executive committee released public statements that respond to the crises in the world. COP27. A statement on COP27 notes that there are communities and nations already facing catastrophic impacts of climate change but whose urgent appeals other members of the international community have failed to heed. “COP 27 is a critical occasion for governments to together re-envision, develop, commit to and implement a roadmap towards a fossil fuel-free, post-growth, equitable and sustainable tomorrow, and to tackle the greatest existential challenge to life on the planet,” reads the statement. Digital justice. The statement urges that “technologies are placed at the service of people rather than governments or corporations,” and it addresses the ways in which new technologies are transforming our world and the multiple spaces in which we live, work, and witness. Christian witness. The statement urges “Christian witness and action for human dignity and human rights,” and confesses “our unfulfilled responsibilities to protect and lift up those whose God-given dignity and worth is not respected.” Health. The executive committee urges a commitment to global health-promoting churches. The “Global health and wellbeing” statement notes that the terrible experience of COVID-19 awakened us all to the real and continuing threat of pandemics in our hyper-connected and over-exploited world. “Other longstanding challenges to health and wellbeing have been masked—or in some cases exacerbated—by the pandemic,” the statement reads. Plans for 2023 The executive committee will meet online in December to approve the 2023 budget by the end of the year, as well as prepare for the 2023 central committee meeting on 21-27 June 2023 in Geneva. The executive committee will meet online 22-26 May 2023 and in person 19-20 June 2023 and 8-14 November 2023. The agenda of the central committee 2023 will include developing the strategic direction and programmatic response to the assembly as a pilgrimage of justice, reconciliation and unity (strategies, objectives and policy guidelines). This includes adopting a strategic plan to guide the work of the council until the next assembly and deciding on an programme structure. |
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