Six African Anglican female bishops—fondly known as the “Africa Six”—gathered at St Paul’s University in Nairobi, Kenya on 11 January to share their ideas and inspirations about “Christian Leadership for the 21st Century.”
From 4 to 9 December 2023, thousands of people convened in Harare, Zimbabwe, for the 22nd International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Scientists, medical experts, advocates, people living with HIV, and civil society organizations came together under the theme “AIDS IS NOT OVER: Address inequalities; accelerate inclusion and innovation.” Participants from many faith traditions were a meaningful part of many of these representative groups but also took up a space of their own.
A three-day training on “HIV Self-Stigma and Life-building Skills for Vulnerable Communities,” held in Nigeria, helped equip faith leaders to respond to the challenges of HIV among young people.
With a series of consultations and training on issues related to HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is providing both expertise and inspiration through its Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme.
I received a call from a friend of mine - we both work as medical doctors and had earlier realised that our husbands, who are ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, had been friends for years —this is one of the reasons that drew us to each other. She had been attending the February meeting of the Methodist Women’s Prayer and Service Union (Manyano), Connexional Extended Executive Meeting. My friend said that the general president, Gretta Makhwenkwe, had appointed us to the Wellness Committee.
The Mothers Union from the Church of Uganda (Buganda region) in collaboration with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy and Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance programmes have been finding strength and inspiration during the 16 Days campaign against sexual and gender-based violence.
As a crowd of more than 300 gathered, the St Paul’s University School of Theology officially launched Thursdays in Black, pledging to build an Africa without violence and to join together on a pilgrimage of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
Every Monday, staff and students at the Joshua and Timothy School of Theology, St Paul’s University, in Limuru Kenya hold their weekly fellowship during which they hold prayers, Bible study, and theological debates, and sometimes celebrate holy communion together.
Prof. Ezra Chitando, World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy regional coordinator for Southern Africa, presented on behalf of WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, a paper on “Women’s Transformative Leadership and Africa’s Holistic Development: The Role of the Churches” during an international conference on leadership transformation and innovation in Africa.
As Loyce Maturu shared her story of growing up in Zimbabwe at an interfaith breakfast in New York City on 22 September, she held herself up as an example that faith communities really can make a difference for children who have HIV.
A consultation for theological institutions in Uganda, held 12-15 September, harnessed the contribution of theological institutions in promoting gender equity in the context of HIV and sexual and gender-based violence.
At the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe Germany, Jackcilia Salathiel Ebere will be carrying the voices of women from South Sudan who are crying for peace and justice.
Two World Council of Churches (WCC) HIV initiatives met to review and celebrate the critical and life-changing work of the initiatives and to continue planning for a strengthened WCC HIV response in the new WCC Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing.
A symposium exploring the complex question of misleading theologies in Africa ended here on 24 November, amid concerns that the phenomenon was harming the efforts to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and other diseases.
A Toolkit on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for religious leaders, developed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with INERELA+ and UNESCO, was launched during an event on 19 November.
Religious and traditional leaders in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) participated in online consultations on the SADC Model Law on gender-based violence.
Religious leaders in Tanzania, after attending a workshop on HIV, stigma, treatment adherence and faith healing, released a communique that urges further empowering of religious leaders with skills and information to combat HIV.
A UNAIDS-PEPFAR faith-based initiative workshop, “Harnessing the Power of Partnerships,” started on 27 September in Tanzania with a focus on HIV stigma, treatment adherence and faith healing.
Improving awareness among girls and women on violence, transformative masculinities and femininities, HIV in the COVID-19 context: in order to achieve this very important objective, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, in collaboration with the non-governmental organization Déborah and the Bible Society of Benin, held an intergenerational workshop for 25 girls and women from the Protestant Methodist Church of Benin, the Assemblies of God Church of Benin, Pentecostal churches and non-governmental organisations. The workshop took place at the Bible Society of Cotonou.
Christian educators and other church leaders in Togo are eagerly turning the pages of a new resource for children, a curriculum entitled “Because God Loves Me—Affirming My Value in Christ,” published by the World Council of Churches (WCC).
