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.”
WCC News spoke to Rev. Douglas Leonard, coordinator of the Ecumenical United Nations Office and World Council of Churches (WCC) representative to the United Nations in New York, after attending a summit in Washington D.C. that brought together some 45 representatives of churches and faith-based organizations committed to developing an advocacy plan that responds to the current political situation in the Holy Land.
A delegation comprised of two church leaders and a victim of death threats who lost family members due to the conflict in Colombia was hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New York, 27-30 May. All three spoke with member states of the United Nations Security Council about the worsening situation in relation to the peace accords with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the stalled dialogue with the National Liberation Army.
“We express our deepest concern with regard to the search for peace in Colombia, and we call upon the Colombian government and all armed actors to refrain from targeting social leaders and communities in conflict zones”, said Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), in light of the recent killings of social leaders in Micoahumado, South Bolivar, and elsewhere around the country.
“Expresamos nuestra profunda preocupación con respecto a la búsqueda de la paz en Colombia, y exhortamos al Gobierno colombiano y a todos los actores armados a abstenerse de atacar a los líderes sociales y a las comunidades de las zonas de conflicto”, dijo el Rev. Frank Chikane, moderador de la Comisión de las Iglesias para Asuntos Internacionales (CIAI) del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), ante los recientes asesinatos de líderes sociales en Micoahumado, en el sur de Bolívar, así como en otros lugares del país.
“As Christians, we are called every day to generously practice hospitality”, said Bishop Samuel Aguilar, from the Methodist Church of Peru, as he lamented cases of xenophobia, discrimination and violence suffered by thousands of Venezuelans in different parts of Latin America.
“Como cristianos, todos los días estamos llamados a practicar la hospitalidad con generosidad”, dijo el obispo Samuel Aguilar, de la Iglesia Metodista del Perú, al tiempo que lamentaba los casos de xenofobia, discriminación y violencia sufridos por miles de venezolanos en diferentes partes de América Latina.
Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans and Reformed discern further steps towards deeper ecclesial communion and common witness during a consultation at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States from 26 to 28 March.
(Kommunikation LWB) – Mit einem ökumenischen Gottesdienst in der Herz-Jesu-Basilika der Notre Dame-Universität (Indiana, USA) ist eine viertägige Konferenz unter Beteiligung von fünf weltweiten christlichen Gemeinschaften eröffnet worden, die sich mit der historischen Bedeutung der Gemeinsamen Erklärung zur Rechtfertigungslehre (GE) und ihrer Relevanz für das Streben nach voller, sichtbarer Einheit der Kirche auseinandersetzt.
(LWF Communication) – An ecumenical prayer service in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States, marked the opening of a four-day consultation of five Christian World Communions discussing the historic importance of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) and its impact on the search for full, visible unity of the church.
(Comunicación de la FLM) – Un servicio ecuménico de oración en la Basílica del Sagrado Corazón de la Universidad de Nuestra Dama en Indiana (Estados Unidos) marcó el inicio de una consulta de cinco comuniones cristianas mundiales reunidas durante cuatro días para examinar la importancia histórica de la Declaración conjunta sobre la doctrina de la justificación (DCDJ) y su impacto en la búsqueda de la unidad plena y visible de la iglesia.
(Communications, FLM) – Une célébration de prière œcuménique dans la basilique du Sacré-Cœur de l’université de Notre Dame en Indiana, aux États-Unis, a marqué l’ouverture d’un colloque de quatre jours pendant lesquels cinq communions chrétiennes mondiales vont discuter de l’importance historique de la Déclaration commune sur la justification par la foi (DCJF) et de son rôle dans la recherche d’une unité entière et visible de l’Église.
On 18-22 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission gathered at Faculdade Unida de Vitoria in Brazil for a consultation entitled “Towards a Global Vision of the Church”.
„In der Finanzierung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung kommt eine Ethik der Solidarität und des Miteinanderteilens zum Ausdruck, die auch die zukünftigen Generationen umfasst, denen wir alles Gute und Schlechte hinterlassen, das wir bewirken“, so die Botschaft von Peter Prove, Direktor der ÖRK-Kommission der Kirchen für internationale Angelegenheiten, im Rahmen eines Symposiums, das am 29. Januar am Sitz der Vereinten Nationen in New York stattfand.
“Financing for sustainable development represents the expression of an ethic of solidarity and sharing, including with generations that come after us and who will inherit whatever good or evil we have wrought”, said Peter Prove, director of International Affairs at the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a symposium at the United Nations headquarters, in New York, on 29 January.
“La financiación para el desarrollo sostenible constituye la expresión de una ética de solidaridad y del compartir, en particular con las generaciones venideras, que heredarán todo lo bueno y todo lo malo que hayamos generado”, dijo Peter Prove, director de Asuntos Internacionales del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), en un simposio celebrado en la sede de las Naciones Unidas, en Nueva York, el 29 de enero.
«Le financement du développement durable représente l’expression d’une éthique de la solidarité et du partage, y compris avec les générations qui nous succéderont et qui hériteront de ce que nous aurons fait, en bien ou en mal», a déclaré Peter Prove, directeur des Affaires internationales au Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) lors d’un symposium organisé le 29 janvier au siège des Nations Unies (ONU) à New York.
A Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula convened in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) on 8-12 November, building on decades of progress by the Korean Methodist Church, United Methodist Church, and World Methodist Council, as well the Korean Christian Federation and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
The Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) organized a series of meetings between church leaders from North America and United Nations experts on racial justice issues in New York City on 29-31 October.
“We have sought to support dialogue as a means to resolve differences, and to reaffirm and strengthen calls for justice, peace and respect for diverse ways of thinking in contemporary societies”, reads a message issued by the members of an ecumenical delegation organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) that visited Nicaragua on 28-29 August.
