Amidst a global outpouring, tributes and condolences at a memorial service, Canon Dr Agnes Regina Murei Abuom was celebrated as bold Christian, peacemaker, and resolute ecumenist.
After a years-long battle against proposed water-related legislation in Nigeria that had high potential for privatizing water, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network in Nigeria celebrated the defeat of the proposed law, and pledged to continue to protect water as a human right.
At an Anglican Church in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, rhymes, children’s songs, and noises in a school are constant reminder of Dr Agnes Regina Murei Abuom, the global ecumenist and peacemaker who died on 31 May at age 73.
Following three years of severe drought, in 2018 the City of Cape Town faced an unprecedented water crisis, known as “Day Zero.” Severe water restrictions were introduced to avoid Day Zero, the day in which the city would run out of water.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, in a public statement, urged a permanent cessation of hostilities in Sudan, where people are facing a humanitarian catastrophe following weeks of intense fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“Tax justice is a matter of faith,” said Suzanne Matale. “By faith, [all] are entitled to abundant life. Ordinary people have a right to know and to participate in decision-making tables that affect our own God-given dignity.”
In a pastoral letter to churches and ecumenical partners in Sudan, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended prayers for peace for the suffering of the people.
“We have received with sadness and alarm recent reports of the escalating impacts of the current conflict and insecurity on the churches and religious communities of the country,” Pillay wrote.
During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.
A global call for prayers and support for the Democratic Republic of Congo has amplified as floods and landslides left hundreds of people dead in South Kivu, a province in the east of the country.
In a pastoral letter to the churches of South Sudan and to Norwegian Church Aid, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed shock and sadness about the news of an attack on Norwegian Church Aid vehicles in Imehejek, Lopa Lafon, in the Eastern Equatoria region of South Sudan.
“They came to our house. We refused to open the door so they broke in though the window.”
That’s how Damaris Blessing Tiswan, a finance student at Kaduna Polytechnic, began describing her ordeal of being kidnapped with her four siblings at midnight.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, and urged an end to hostilities.
During a noon prayer on 19 April, the World Council of Churches (WCC) called for global solidarity with the people of Sudan as an escalating conflict has plunged many innocent people into a situation in which they are barely able to survive.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep sadness at the sudden escalation of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
After persistently calling for dialogue to end violent anti-government protests, Kenyan religious leaders are welcoming President William Samoei Ruto and opposition leader Raila Amollo Odinga consultations, during which the two have agreed to tackle critical issues troubling the east African nation.
I received a call from a friend of mine - we both work as medical doctors and had earlier realised that our husbands, who are ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, had been friends for years —this is one of the reasons that drew us to each other. She had been attending the February meeting of the Methodist Women’s Prayer and Service Union (Manyano), Connexional Extended Executive Meeting. My friend said that the general president, Gretta Makhwenkwe, had appointed us to the Wellness Committee.
