World Council of Churches (WCC) director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs Peter Prove presented, via video message, an intervention at an “International Ecumenical Solidarity Gathering for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines” held 7 October.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent a video greeting to the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) for its upcoming 106th General Assembly, scheduled for 28-29 September.
In a 1 September letter to President Joe Biden, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca appealed for reconsideration on sanctions against North Korea.
Participants in a meeting of members and partners of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification & Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula (EFK), held online on 25 August, emphasized the need to continue to work together for peace on the Korean Peninsula even amid COVID-19 and challenging political circumstances.
The World Council of Churches invites its member churches and all people of good will to observe the annual Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsulaon 15 August. Prepared by Christians from South Korea, the prayer will be held on the day celebrated as Liberation Day in both North and South Korea, marking the date in 1945 when Korea won independence from Japanese colonial oppression—yet ironically it also was the day when the peninsula was divided into two countries.
At a 28 July ecumenical briefing on INVESTIGATE PH’s “Second Report of the Independent International Commission of Investigation Into Human Rights Violations in the Philippines,” religious leaders discussed their renewed commitment to act in solidarity with people in the Philippines whose human rights are increasingly in peril.
They came from every part of Indonesia for the online consultation of member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Indonesia, with COVID-19 weighing heavily on those representing 27 traditions from a nation with more than 3.3 million cases reported.
The World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs delivered two statements to the 47th session of United Nations Human Rights Council, being held 21 June-21 July.
The 7th Korea-US Church Consultation was held 24 June online, bringing together Korean and US church leaders to reflect on their mission journey, to share their respective challenges, and to explore joint action plans especially vis-a-vis the new US Administration.
Through an ecumenical worship service held at the Kyungdong Presbyterian Church on 30 June, the National Council of Churches in Korea and the Christian Academy jointly marked the creation of a new “Korean Accompaniment Group for the WCC 11th Assembly.”
The hopes for better times to come in the aftermath of the pandemic were evident when World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee members from the Asia region gathered online 24 June to share recent experiences and prepare for a productive WCC assembly next year.
Archbishop Rev. Dr Soritua Albert Ernest Nababan, a global ecumenical leader, passed away on 8 May in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the age of 88. He was the World Council of Churches (WCC) president from 2006-2013 and served as the former Ephorus (Archbishop) of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, the largest Protestant church in Indonesia and the largest Lutheran church in Asia with a membership of 4 million people.
As human rights violations worsen in the Philippines, religious leaders there are urging global solidarity for their increasingly urgent quest for justice.
The National Council of Churches in Korea has published a “2021 Easter Prayer for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula” with a message of hope and reconciliation.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca condemned a bomb attack outside a Catholic church on Palm Sunday in the Indonesian city of Makassar that left at least 14 people wounded. Police believe two suicide bombers perished in the attack.
As a report on human rights abuses in the Philippines was delivered to the UN by the global group Investigate PH, churches and human rights groups reiterated their concerns over propagation of a culture that allows the abuse to happen.
While the peace process on the Korean Peninsula needs further progress built on trust, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected international humanitarian support and development cooperation efforts. World Council of Churches (WCC) communications invited Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, to discuss the current ecumenical engagement for Korea and role of churches in building a sustainable peace.
World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent joyful greetings to the Gereja Masehi Injili di Halmahera 4th Annual Assembly in Indonesia, being held 18 February.
Convening online on 14 January, members and supporters of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification and Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula recalled the initiatives undertaken during 2020 despite the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and reflected on the implications of a changing global context for efforts for peace.
