The WCC Ecumenical Water Network is inviting member churches and supporters to reflect on water during Lent. For many in the world, water is either taken for granted or in desperately short supply.
Christians need a "spirituality of resistance" to face oppression, violence and experiences of defeat, the WCC general secretary said in an address at Germany’s biggest Protestant gathering.
The “pilgrimage is both a way to continue working for the one ecumenical movement and a way to move forward in our times that offer new dimensions, opportunities and practices,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.
Amidst the reality of tensions often fueled by religions, a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish youth has formed a multi-faith community. As part of an interfaith summer course sponsored by the WCC, this community wants to work for the protection of creation – a concern they say is common to all faith traditions.
The recent air strikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip have crippled the water distribution system. Dinesh Suna, coordinator of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC, shares that an already challenging water situation in Gaza has recently worsened because of the violence, threatening the fundamental human right to water and sanitation.
Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.
Working in alliance with churches is strategically important, said a UN representative at the recent assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches.