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Une délégation du Soudan du Sud plaide en faveur de la paix à New York

Des représentants et représentantes du Conseil des Églises du Soudan du Sud (SSCC) ont participé à une série de réunions la semaine dernière à New York, aux côtés du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE), pour informer les États membres et les agences de l’ONU de la crise actuelle et pour défendre un chemin de paix.

Churches express solidarity with indigenous peoples at UN Permanent Forum

From 16-27 April, the United Nations headquarters in New York City is hosting the 17th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is assisting the participation of a representative of the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples Network Reference Group (EIPNRG) and co-sponsored a public event that explored ways that the church can move into a new phase of interaction with indigenous communities.

Sharon Watkins reflects on work ahead to end racism

Rev. Dr Sharon Watkins was the coordinator of “A.C.T. (Awaken, Confront, Transform) Now,” a series of events on 3-5 April that included an ecumenical gathering; rally in Washington, D.C.; and “National Day of Advocacy and Action.” The three-day event marked the beginning of a Truth and Racial Justice Initiative by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. As A.C.T. Now came to a close on 5 April, Dr Watkins spoke about the work ahead to eradicate the entrenched racism that grips the United States and paralyzes our ability to see every human being as equal.

US churches wrestle with complexities of race and religion

Defying gathering clouds, “Act Now to End Racism” rally attendees on Wednesday joined rousing choruses of Gospel standards and pledged to recommit to the cause of racial equality. Throughout this week’s three-day event in Washington, D.C., they grappled with a stubborn and pernicious reality amid a tense and uncertain political environment.

“Dear white Christians: what now?”

Hundreds of people gathered, then hundreds more, the crowd growing and marching in silence to the beat of a drum as dawn broke on 4 April, 50 years to the day since Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee.

WCC moderator to greet DC marchers

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, will address participants at this week’s “Act Now to End Racism” march and rally in Washington, D.C.

Pan-African women demand end to gun violence in USA

In a “Holy Week Statement of Lament and Solidarity” for Maundy Thursday, the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network demanded an end to gun violence in America. The statement, developed for use in prayer on Maundy Thursday as well as other Holy Week liturgy, decries the response to gun violence against children in the USA as “scarce and insufficient.”

Faces of Hope raises awareness

A little more than a year ago Rev. Stacey Duensing went on a trip to Israel-Palestine together with her denomination, the Reformed Church in America. She returned home to the United States with a different perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A perspective she wanted to share with a broader public audience.

Religious organizations speak up on refugee crisis at UN event

On 22 January, the World Council of Churches, together with the ACT Alliance, General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and Responsibility to Protect, and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force with Faith Based Organizations, co-organized the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) in International Affairs with the theme “Perspectives on migration: displacement and marginalization, inclusion and justice”.

As Hollywood speaks out, will other wounded women go deeper in the shadows?

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson has a unique position in observing and advocating for women’s rights or, as she would quickly clarify, “the fair treatment of human beings” no matter what their gender. As bishop-in-residence at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, she ministers to church members who were not only present at this week’s Golden Globe Awards – they were the nominees. And, as vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, she is part of a global parish, traveling to communities far removed from the privilege of Hollywood, where violence occurs against women who are seen by their own communities as having no voice and no rights.

La parole qui se libère à Hollywood laissera-t-elle dans l’ombre d’autres femmes blessées?

L’évêque Mary Ann Swenson occupe une position unique en matière d’observation et de défense des droits des femmes ou, comme elle se hâterait de rectifier, du «traitement équitable des êtres humains» quel que soit leur sexe. En tant qu’évêque résidente de l’Église méthodiste unie à Hollywood, en Californie (États-Unis), elle exerce son ministère auprès de fidèles qui n’ont pas seulement assisté aux Golden Globe Awards de cette semaine: ils ont également concouru pour les prix décernés. D’autre part, en tant que vice-présidente du Comité central du COE, elle fait partie d’une paroisse mondiale qui se rend dans des communautés très éloignées des quartiers privilégiés d’Hollywood, où les violences faites aux femmes sont une réalité: leurs propres communautés ne leur reconnaissent aucun droit, notamment à la parole.

WCC mourns lives lost in shooting at Texas church

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed sorrow for the lives lost and solidarity for those who are responding to a shooting on 5 November at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas (USA).