Churches in South Sudan are appealing for humanitarian assistance, amidst fears that the consequences of climate change, macro-economic shocks, and the war in Sudan could sink the country further into the worst humanitarian crisis since independence.
To promote transparent, democratic, and peaceful elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the All Africa Conference of Churches, with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa, appointed international ecumenical observers to observe the elections on 20 December.
In Renk, a small South Sudanese town on the banks of the White Nile, churches are working to help thousands of people fleeing the war in the neighbouring Sudan.
During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.
A global call for prayers and support for the Democratic Republic of Congo has amplified as floods and landslides left hundreds of people dead in South Kivu, a province in the east of the country.
In a pastoral letter to the churches of South Sudan and to Norwegian Church Aid, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed shock and sadness about the news of an attack on Norwegian Church Aid vehicles in Imehejek, Lopa Lafon, in the Eastern Equatoria region of South Sudan.
After receiving a pilgrimage of global religious leaders, the South Sudan Council of Churches released a statement on 10 March echoing the church leaders’ call for nonviolent means to solve the nation’s problems.
As South Sudan readied to welcome visiting world Christian leaders, church officials in the country articulated a range of expectations, including a strong call for peace and reconciliation.
As Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo, then with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, and Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, to South Sudan on 3- 5 February, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay said he welcomes and supports the visits.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay denounced a bomb attack that killed 17 members of the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo on 15 January. Thirty-nine people were wounded.
After postponing their unique ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to South Sudan, world Christian leaders will travel to the world’s youngest nation in February.
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.
In South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the peace and reconciliation work of pastors, priests and lay Christians remains critical for the people, as the global church and ecumenical groups amplify their concerns over the complex but separate conflicts in the two African countries.
In a 21 June statement, religious leaders in eastern Africa released a statement on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They reaffirmed their commitment to peace, security and democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the eastern African community at large.
At ecumenical prayers in the capital city, Juba, South Sudanese church leaders called for unity, peace, and reconciliation, as their nation continued to struggle with instability and conflict, a decade after independence.
Elisama Wani Daniel, from the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, spoke about the prophetic role of the church in helping the people of South Sudan, which he describes as “a country that has gone through many struggles in its history.”
At an online roundtable hosted by the All Africa Conference of Churches, male “champions for gender justice” shared their ideas and insights during their yearlong service as men who are helping to prevent gender-based violence.