Shamsa Abubakar Fadhil, a recipient of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, is a household name in peace building and community mobilisation in the Kenyan coastal region.
As South Sudan readied to welcome visiting world Christian leaders, church officials in the country articulated a range of expectations, including a strong call for peace and reconciliation.
As Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo, then with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, and Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, to South Sudan on 3- 5 February, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay said he welcomes and supports the visits.
After the assassination of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, statements and messages of condolences began pouring forth from churches and governments across the world. Maseko was shot in his home in Eswatini on 21 January by unknown attackers.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay denounced a bomb attack that killed 17 members of the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo on 15 January. Thirty-nine people were wounded.
Church leaders in the Philippines gathered in an ecumenical memorial service in Manila on 21 September, the 50th anniversary of the imposition of martial law, to solemnly recall people of faith who were tortured and killed during the brutal regime of president Ferdinand Marcos.
At the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe Germany, Jackcilia Salathiel Ebere will be carrying the voices of women from South Sudan who are crying for peace and justice.
In South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the peace and reconciliation work of pastors, priests and lay Christians remains critical for the people, as the global church and ecumenical groups amplify their concerns over the complex but separate conflicts in the two African countries.
In a 21 June statement, religious leaders in eastern Africa released a statement on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They reaffirmed their commitment to peace, security and democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the eastern African community at large.
In a public statement, the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee expressed grave concern for the people of Ethiopia and urged churches and organizations everywhere to answer urgent needs with humanitarian aid.
Elisama Wani Daniel, from the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, spoke about the prophetic role of the church in helping the people of South Sudan, which he describes as “a country that has gone through many struggles in its history.”
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep shock at a recent attack on a church community during a Sunday morning mass at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.
In a statement during its executive committee meeting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed relief at hearing the news of the safe release of kidnapped religious leaders in Nigeria—but also expressed alarm over an escalating crisis of criminal kidnappings across the nation.
In drought-stricken regions in eastern Africa, churches and church congregations continue to pray for rain, as the weather conditions leave millions of people without food, water and pasture for their animals.
On the International Day of Living Together in Peace declared by the United Nations, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship from countries troubled by war and conflict gathered to pray for sustainable peace in the world.
When heads of Churches in South Sudan unveiled the Action Plan for Peace in the Rwandan Capital, Kigali in 2015, the immediate aim was to stop the war.
The churches of Sudan – and especially the Sudan Council of Churches as their ecumenical forum – have suffered from a serious lack of attention and support by international ecumenical partners since the separation of South Sudan in 2011.
To accompany the churches and people of Sudan in the midst of significant changes and challenges in the country, a delegation of World Council of Churches (WCC) along with its ecumenical partners is undertaking an ecumenical solidarity visit to Sudan.