Christians in New York City opened the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 18 January by participating in a worship service at the Interchurch Center, an office building that houses many church-related organizations and many others focused on intercultural and religious exchange. The service was infused with themes of justice and unity, both from a perspective of African-American history and the urging of Christians today to put their faith into action.
As Christians in Africa joined the celebrations to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a Roman Catholic priest who is involved in ecumenism, stressed the unity of the churches as central to building a concrete response to poor people’s need for justice in the continent.
Rev. Dr Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, helped convene the team of authors for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials. Below, he reflects on the challenges and hopes the team brought to the table as they composed the text.
While the World Council of Churches (WCC) deeply appreciates peace-building efforts in South Sudan, the WCC is also calling attention to the dire circumstances in which the people of South Sudan are still forced to lead their daily lives.
When Rev. Frank Chikane was leading the South African Council of Churches in calling out injustices of the apartheid system, their work did not stop even after the council’s office building was bombed to the ground in 1980s. Moderating the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 2016, Rev. Chikane has been engaged in addressing injustices in many parts of the world. WCC Communication asked Rev. Chikane to look back at his term at the commission and the ongoing calling of churches to address injustices in the world today.
I see five imperatives for theologians (prophetic, pastoral and priestly), to occupy the social media space, which is currently dominated by politics (politricks), business (including profiteers), entertainers (artists, sports, etc.), economists, lawyers, etc.
When Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells, African Descent Lutheran Association national president, reflects on his experience as one of 18 participants from around the world to participate in the United Nations' Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent, he thinks of it as a unique opportunity to advocate for racial justice.
The Perkins School of Theology Alumni/ae Council selected Dr Evelyn L. Parker as the 2021 recipient of the Perkins Distinguished Alumnus/a Award. The award recognizes Perkins graduates who have demonstrated effectiveness and integrity in service to the church, continuing support for the goals of Perkins and Southern Methodist University, outstanding service to the community, and exemplary character.
South Sudan came into existence ten years ago this week, but there is little to celebrate for the world's newest nation, Rev. Fr James Oyet Latansio, general secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches.
The following interview with Benoît and Denise Lokila, of the Cana Fraternity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is part of a series dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
As Mozambican churches respond to growing humanitarian challenges in the country, their leaders are urging the government to act decisively to end a violent conflict in the north which has left behind a trail of death, destruction and displacement.
A two-day conference in Buea, Cameroon, has empowered religious leaders to offer vital input into a peace plan in the divided nation. Rev. Samuel Fonki Forba, president of the Council of Protestant Churches in Cameroon, said that the conference helped religious leaders build their capacity in the area of peace.
When a group of Cameroonian religious leaders from both English and French-speaking communities, both Christian and Muslim, met to discuss the crisis in the Anglophone western provinces of Cameroon, they committed themselves to being "diplomats of peace.”
Church leaders in Africa are continuing to call for a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in northern Ethiopia, as agencies warn of a humanitarian crisis in the region.