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Indigenous peoples and the pandemic in the land of inequalities

476 million indigenous people live around the world, of which 11.5% live in our Latin American region. In these years that we are going from the COVID 19 pandemic in our territories (indigenous or tribal at the Latin American level), the presence of many extractive companies, mainly uranium and lithium, has increased, land traffickers and among other monoculture companies with fires for the cultivation of oil palm, logging, putting vulnerable peoples at greater risk than what is already experienced.

The imperative to go back to the ecumenical basics

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, was asked about the WCC executive committee meeting held on 17-23 May 2021. The WCC executive committee set a tone of hope for the future while, at the same time, addressing multiple global crises with statements, pastoral messages, and calls for prayer.

The transition to online programming and prayers during COVID-19 has challenged the WCC, and the rest of the world, Abuom found, and said is a heavy burden” on all in the ecumenical family as the WCC prepares for its 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany next year.

The pandemic does not stop the pilgrimage— it deepens the accompaniment

As part of a series of material prepared for a special edition of the WCC newsletter focusing on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, WCC news interviewed Rev. Prof. Dr Fernando Enns, from the Association of Mennonite Congregations in Germany, and Jennifer Martin, Education in Mission secretary for the Caribbean and North America Council for Mission, United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Enns and Martin share the moderation of the Reference Group of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace since its creation in 2013.

WCC sends greetings to Buddhist friends during festival of Vesak

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared cordial greetings to Buddhist friends across the world observing the festival of Vesak. May the values of compassion, loving kindness, empathy and equanimity taught by Gautama Buddha, whose birth, enlightenment and death you commemorate on this auspicious occasion, continue to inspire and guide you during this time of pandemic,” wrote Sauca. We are living in an unprecedented time of uncertainty and widespread suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Arctic communities to WCC pilgrims: “We need your voice”

Lorraine Netro, who was raised in the Gwichin First Nation of Old Crow, Yukon (Canada), is part of an indigenous community—but shes also a global citizen.

Todays Arctic peoples are important members of global society,” Netro said. The survival of Arctic cultures and communities remains tied to the wildlife and landscape of the Arctic Refuge.”

WCC announces winners of essay competition for bringing fresh views on interreligious dialogue

Essays by five young theologians representing different church traditions have been chosen as the winning entries in an essay writing competition organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation. Chosen by an international panel of judges from the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey and the WCC, the essays cover a range of themes and perspectives related to the topic of the competition, The Future of Interreligious Dialogue.”

International colloquium focuses on interreligious solidarity

An international colloquium on the theme “Who is my Neighbour?” brought together speakers and participants from around the world to reflect on the World Council of Churches (WCC)-Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) joint document “Serving  a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity.” The colloquium was organised by the Church of Ireland’s journal SEARCH, in conjunction with the Anglican chaplaincy of Trinity College Dublin.

WCC acting general secretary: “We are bound to each other in universal kinship through God”

During a multilateral dialogue on Fratelli tutti, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca spoke on “Fraternity, Interreligious Dialogue and Social Justice.”

He joined religious leaders as well as representatives from the UN, International Labour Organization, World Health Organization, and International Red Cross on 15 April for the online event. He spoke on a panel with representatives from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Royal Institute of Interfaith Studies, and Latin American Rabbinical Seminary of the Conservative Movement in Buenos Aires, Argentina.