Central Committee member Dr Mary Tanner of the Church of England stressed that although many of the threats confronting communities around the world appeared to be local, they were in fact interconnected.
“They belong as part of a global web of injustice, a global web of oppression, a global web of economic and ecological crises,” she said.
“The threats experienced locally and specifically are not treatable merely on a local level.
“There is an urgency for Christian togetherness at the local level, at the regional level and at the world level.”
Dr Tanner encouraged churches to share resources and join together in common action locally and globally.
“God calls us to live together for the world’s sake and for God’s sake,” she said.
The Central Committee, meeting in Geneva, received updates on the challenges facing Christians in Fiji, Syria and the Middle East, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Rev Geraldine Varea, of the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma, spoke of the ongoing conflict between her Church and the Fijian government.
The Church decided this month to cancel its annual conference and national choir contest after the government arrested seven of its ministers, including the President and General Secretary. They were later released.
Rev Varea said the recent incorporation of the Pacific Council of Churches into the WCC had presented a new opportunity for dialogue between the Methodist Church and the Fiji government.
“The government is willing to dialogue with the Methodist Church and the Methodist Church is willing to dialogue with the government but in terms of reconciliation the question is who is going to take the first step towards reconciliation,” she said.
