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Throughout 2020, the World Council of Churches (WCC), together with the National Council of Churches in Korea, has been observing a Global Prayer Campaign,“We Pray, Peace Now, End the War.” As part of the campaign, the WCC is sharing personal stories and interviews that inspire others to work for peace. The story below features the perspective of U.S. war veterans, all of whom are also featured in video interviews.

Tout au long de l'année 2020, le Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) et le Conseil national des Églises de Corée observent une campagne mondiale de prière baptisée «Nous prions, la paix maintenant, arrêtez la guerre». Dans le cadre de cette campagne, le COE publie divers récits personnels et interviews dont l'objectif est d'encourager les individus à œuvrer pour la paix. C'est le cas des témoignages suivants, recueillis auprès d'anciens combattants américains et disponibles en vidéo.

A Joint Ecumenical Peace Message for the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War was publicly delivered on 22 June during a live-streamed event. Co-sponsored by churches and councils of churches around the world, especially from countries that participated in the Korean War, the message describes the Korean War as an “appallingly destructive conflict” after which no peace treaty was ever concluded.

Un message de paix œcuménique commun a été rendu public à l’occasion du 70e anniversaire de l’éclatement de la guerre de Corée lors d’un événement diffusé en direct le 22 juin. Le message, coparrainé par les Églises et conseils des Églises du monde entier, et plus particulièrement des pays ayant participé à la guerre de Corée, décrit cette dernière comme un «conflit effroyablement destructeur» des suites duquel aucun traité de paix n’a abouti.

The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians published a statement entitled “Mama, Mama…I Can’t Breathe!” that expresses heartbreak over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a policeman.

“Floyd pleaded for his life to no avail until he finally succumbed to death,” reads the statement. “The community has been pleading, ‘Black Lives Matter.’ ”

Through adoption of a resolution in support of the Thursdays in Black campaign in August, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly has publicly affirmed the church’s commitment to fostering gender justice. The action is a significant official step that now formally “calls upon all people across all expressions of the church to participate in the #ThursdaysinBlack campaign by wearing black on Thursdays and actively participating in the various reflection and action items.”

En adoptant une résolution de soutien à la campagne des Jeudis en noir en août dernier, l’Assemblée des Églises de l’Église évangélique luthérienne d’Amérique (ELCA, dans ses sigles anglais) a affirmé publiquement l’engagement de l’Église en faveur d’une plus grande justice sensible à la spécificité des sexes. Cette action est une étape officielle de poids qui, désormais, «appelle toute personne de toute expression ecclésiale à participer à la campagne #ThursdaysinBlack en portant du noir les jeudis et à prendre activement part à différentes réflexions et actions».

Born in Nazareth, Galilee, Rev. Dr Saïd Ailabouni moved to the US at the age of 19 to become a physician. But he was so angry at God that he went to study theology instead, becoming a Lutheran pastor. Now he is leading the Middle East & Europe desk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since leaving his hometown 50 years ago, he visits his Palestinian family regularly. As the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches, Ailabouni agreed to share some of his lifetime observations with the Word Council of Churches.

Né à Nazareth, en Galilée, le pasteur Saïd Ailabouni a déménagé aux États-Unis à l’âge de 19 ans pour devenir médecin. Or, sa colère contre Dieu était telle qu’il a préféré suivre des études de théologie avant de devenir pasteur luthérien. Il est aujourd’hui à la tête du bureau pour le Moyen-Orient et l’Europe de l’Église évangélique luthérienne d’Amérique. Depuis qu’il a quitté sa terre natale, il y a 50 ans, il rend régulièrement visite à ses proches en Palestine. Alors que la Semaine mondiale pour la paix en Palestine et Israël approche, le pasteur Ailabouni accepte de confier certaines de ses réflexions, égrenées au fil des ans, au Conseil œcuménique des Églises.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is standing in solidarity with the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and WCC member churches in the USA as they demand an end to gun violence, racist rhetoric, and white supremacy.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, leader of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, received an International Religious Freedom Award from the US Department of State on 17 July. She paused to speak with WCC Communication with a word about what has inspired her life’s work for peace.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, leader of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, has received an International Religious Freedom Award from the US Department of State. The awards “honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world” and will be presented on 17 July in Washington, D.C.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, responsable du Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process (RTCYPP, Suivi religieux du processus de paix à Chypre), a reçu le Prix international de la liberté de la presse du Département d’État américain. Le prix «honore les défenseurs et défenseuses extraordinaires de la liberté religieuse dans le monde entier» et sera remis le 17 juillet à Washington, D.C.

Faith leaders across the USA released on 9 July a jointly signed statement entitled “Back from the Brink: Faith leaders call for diplomacy, not war, with Iran.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has released “A 60-Day Journey Toward Justice in a Culture of Gun Violence,” a collection of daily observances that call people to face the painful truth of gun violence and work for its prevention.

In the wake of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, the Omnia Institute for Contextual Leadership, based in Chicago, lifted up points of hope that peace will win in the end. In a 25 April message, Shanta Premawardhana, president of the institute, wrote that every person of every faith of every nation deserves to wake up in peace. “Every child deserves to feel safe, welcomed, and alive to the promise that each day brings,” Premawardhana wrote. “I'm sure you know that this is why we build Interfaith Peacemaker Teams in Sri Lanka.”

“What can one person do” can often sound like a lament about powerlessness.

For Thursdays in Black, though, one person can build a movement.

David Emmanuel Goatley, Faculty Director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke University Divinity School in North Carolina, USA, learned about Thursdays in Black through his involvement with the World Council of Churches’ Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. He has now launched the campaign through the Office at Duke University.

«Que peut faire une personne seule» résonne souvent comme une plainte devant notre impuissance.

Pour les Jeudis en noir, cependant, une personne seule peut construire un mouvement.

David Emmanuel Goatley, Directeur de faculté du Bureau des Études des Églises noires à la Divinity School de l’Université Duke en Caroline du nord, aux États-Unis, a découvert les Jeudis en noir lorsqu’il s’est engagé dans le Pèlerinage de justice et de paix du Conseil œcuménique des Églises. Il a maintenant lancé la campagne par le biais du Bureau à l’Université Duke.

Respect for the other lies at the heart of peace education and was a key thread through a debate entitled “Education for Peace in a multi-religious world”. It was held on the 2018 World Human Rights Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva.