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Ukraine: Responding to humanitarian need

When the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, churches had already been responding to humanitarian need in the country for eight years, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.  The work being undertaken by churches in meeting the needs of those displaced by the war is not new, but the scale is staggering as 14 million people have been displaced in the six months since the invasion began.

Promoting human dignity through art

“Affirming justice and human dignity”  was the theme of the fourth thematic plenary of the World Council of Churches(WCC) 11th assembly on 6 September. The presentation featured a wheelchair dance performance by Fadi El Halabi, a wheelchair user and Ms. Karen Abi Nader, an international artist. In the freestyle dance, Halabi effortlessly spinned around his wheelchair and,  with slow coordinated moves together with his dance partner, threw hands in the air symbolizing the joy that can only be felt when all exclusionary and disempowerment practices in church and society are addressed.

Indigenous women struggle for identity in Asia and beyond

The contributions made by indigenous women in Asia to society and community often go unnoticed and unrecognized due to continued marginalization and discrimination in the region and beyond. Participants in a September 2 workshop at the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th assembly heard that while gender equality is slowly gaining momentum globally, indigenous women are still struggling for their rights - first as women and second as indigenous women.

Choose the power of love: Pre-Assemblies deliver powerful calls

Karlsruhe, a city built over 300 hundred years ago without walls, open to friends and guests —at a time where other cities still hid behind their fortifications —welcomed people from all over the world to four pre-assemblies that are bringing forward powerful calls to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

WCC climate work looks to unite a global voice on climate change, justice, food, and health

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) Climate Working Group meets this month, the advisory body is looking forward to offering the fruits of its work for reflection and, most important, action at the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. Below, Rev. Henrik Grape, senior advisor on Care for Creation, Sustainability, and Climate Justice, reflects on climate justice work in the lead-up to the assembly and beyond.

WCC extends sympathy to South Korea in wake of record flooding

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended greetings and sympathy to the many in South Korea affected by record heavy rainfall—the most in 115 years. The deluge battered Seoul and caused damage throughout the central and eastern regions in South Korea.

Borders and Migrants

On 20 May 2022, a group of us, 14 pilgrims from different parts of the world (Kenya, Brussels, Germany, Hong Kong, Philippines, Poland, Rome, Korea, Canada, Fiji, Australia, London, Scotland, and Geneva—a very diverse group) gathered in Palermo, Italy for a Pilgrim Team Visit on the theme of migration. 

WCC executive committee appoints three new WCC staff leaders

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has appointed, by consensus, three new WCC staff leaders: a programme director for Unity and Mission; a programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia; and a director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism.