Ecumenical Water Network

17/03/2026

Dear friends, In January the UN Water Conference, preparatory high level conference was held in Dakar. In December we will have the UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE. How to make sure that water justice drives this conference and not the "blue gold" - the economic and financial value of water . These issues will be discussed in this webinar. Experts from the People's Water Forum , including the Ecumenical Water Network will be speaking. Please join and share in your networks. click here to register: https://tinyurl.com/3kha2puj

21/02/2026

Climate resilient communities in the context of WASH
The first reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2026 is authored by Rev. Veronica Flachier a Lutheran pastor who currently serves as president of the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission of Ecuador. She was cochair of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network and a member of the International Reference Group for 11 years. Today, she is a member of the WCC Just Community of Women and Men International Reference Group. In this reflection, the author contrasts the biblical vision of life in abundance in Revelation with the harsh reality of inequality and water scarcity facing marginalized communities in Latin America. Ultimately, this reflection serves as a call to action for faith communities to challenge the status quo and actively work toward justice, dignity, and equitable access to essential resources for everyone.

The first reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2026 is authored by Rev. Veronica Flachier, a Lutheran pastor who currently serves as president of the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission of Ecuador. She was cochair of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network and a member of the International Reference Grou...

21/02/2026

Just like every year, since 2008 on the , we launched the as our Lenten campaign at the World Council of Churches with a prayer service at a local Church in Geneva. What is different this year is that the Water campaign is lodged within a campaign. For more details please click each of these campaigns, participate and spread among your networks to make this Lent more meaningful ❤️🙏

During an ecumenical Ash Wednesday service at the St Hippolyte Roman Catholic Church in Geneva on 18 February, staff from the World Council of Churches (WCC), Lutheran World Federation, ACT Alliance, and other ecumenical partners gathered to reflect on the theme “Time To Return.”

10/12/2025

Friends, if you are interested to know the outcome of the recently concluded in Belem, from the faith perspective, please join this webinar on 10 December:

The World Council of Churches (WCC) together with the Food for Life Campaign and EU-CORD, invites you to a webinar on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, from 09:30 to 11:00 CET.

01/12/2025

We are with you in solidarity friends from El Salvador...

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16m9hs3Hne/

On December 1, 153 prominent faith organizations from 25 countries released a powerful letter that urges El Salvador's historic 2017 metals mining ban to remain in place. In 2024, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele overturned the ban.

El Salvador faces multiple challenges and environmental threats that would be exacerbated by large-scale industrial mining.

In 2017, El Salvador’s legislature voted unanimously to prohibit all metals mining in order to save its rivers and water. That momentous decision was the result of powerful sustained organizing by ordinary community members in El Salvador, and supported by communities around the world. The faith community played a huge role in that historic victory to defend water and land resources.

“Through this declaration, faith communities from around the world have affirmed their solidarity with faith leaders in El Salvador as they carry out their duty to protect water as a sacred inherited trust, a human right meant to be shared by all,” said the Rev. Dr. Japhet Ndhlovu, Executive Minister for the Church in Mission Unit of The United Church of Canada.

Read the full news release and open letter on our website: https://united-church.ca/news/open-letter-urges-retention-el-salvadors-historic-ban-metals-mining

There is also a press webinar with the signatories to the letter to highlight its release, today, December 1 at 2:00 pm ET. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XbaQYKnb1qT-JuXLodLtlYzFCj4Lblm_RqGcqDfBOTw/viewform

[Photo: Ecumenical Ecological Water Walk San Salvador, 2025
Credit: Acafremin]

20/11/2025

Friends, presenting to you the 2nd edition of the , a flagship publication of the . The coordinator of had the honour and privilege of editing this with a brilliant team of colleagues. We launched it at the in Belem, Brazil yesterday in the hands of the WCC President for North America, Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith. Please download it and read and share.

The World Council of Churches unveiled its second Living Planet Monitor today at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The publication focuses on Central, North, and West ...

05/06/2025

Religious institutions worldwide are confronting their role in perpetuating menstrual stigma while simultaneously emerging as powerful advocates for women's dignity and health equity. The World Council of Churches (WCC) fourth annual Menstrual Hygiene Day webinar on 4 June brought together speakers from multiple continents and faith traditions to examine how patriarchal structures within religious communities have weaponised menstruation for control and marginalisation, whilst demonstrating how scripture, theology, and faith-based action can become tools for justice and liberation.

Religious institutions worldwide are confronting their role in perpetuating menstrual stigma while simultaneously emerging as powerful advocates for women's dignity and health equity. The World Council of Churches (WCC) fourth annual Menstrual Hygiene Day webinar on 4 June brought together speakers....

05/06/2025

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined global faith leaders on 3 June for "Nourishing Hope: Faith-Based Solutions to Hunger and Environmental Crises," a comprehensive webinar that demonstrated how religious communities are uniquely positioned to address the interconnected challenges of hunger, debt, and climate change. The event, co-hosted with Caritas Internationalis and World Vision International, brought together practitioners and advocates from across continents to share innovative faith-led solutions and build momentum for coordinated action against what speakers called a "moral crisis of the world."The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined global faith leaders on 3 June for "Nourishing Hope: Faith-Based Solutions to Hunger and Environmental Crises," a comprehensive webinar that demonstrated how religious communities are uniquely positioned to address the interconnected challenges of hunger, debt, and climate change. The event, co-hosted with Caritas Internationalis and World Vision International, brought together practitioners and advocates from across continents to share innovative faith-led solutions and build momentum for coordinated action against what speakers called a "moral crisis of the world."

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined global faith leaders on 3 June for "Nourishing Hope: Faith-Based Solutions to Hunger and Environmental Crises," a comprehensive webinar that demonstrated how religious communities are uniquely positioned to address the interconnected challenges of hunger, d...

05/06/2025

Here is a news release from WCC on our participation at the UN FAO Expert Group on Water Tenure the past week. It was quite an enriching experience to be part of this ground breaking process in framing the principles of the water tenure/governance.

As climate change intensifies pressure on global water resources, threatening food security worldwide, a landmark UN expert group meeting in Rome advanced principles for responsible water tenure governance—the legal frameworks that determine who can access, use, and control water resources—that ...

22/05/2025

Today we at the World Council of churches are launching a series of webinars to address the interconnectedness of land water and food in association with the India peace center and national Council of churches in India. We start with the first webinar focusing on land related issues to must be World biodiversity day. Please sign up to attend one or all the webinar if you are interested and share among your network please.

As interconnected crises of land degradation, water scarcity, and food insecurity intensify worldwide, faith communities in India are taking the lead to address these challenges through a holistic "nexus approach." The India Peace Centre, in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and...

25/03/2025

To mark the , Susan Lea Smith and Dinesh Suna , Coordinator for WCC EWN wrote a reflection for the ....marking the fifth year of water being listed as a tradable commodity like gold and oil in stock (futures)markets in California . Ironically California experienced unprecedented wildfires this year. Read the reflection here and please share it among your friends and networks:

The fourth reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2025 series of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network is jointly written by Dinesh Suna and Prof. Susan Smith. They reflect on the pressing issues surrounding water in the context of climate change, especially the disastrous recent wildfires in California...