Prof. Dr Sarojini Nadar is director of the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, University of Western Cape, South Africa. Below, she reflects on outcomes from the inaugural “Ecumenical Women’s Initiative for Leadership and Learning” held in May.
In the world today, border is far from a neutral or natural notion. Depending on the context of interpretation, it evokes different thoughts and emotions. For some, it may recall an expensive wall of xenophobia. For others, it could mean a gateway to safety and refuge, or the relentless defense against hostile aggressors. As we ponder the theme “Christ’s love (re)moves borders,” we shall begin by asking: What are borders? At a time when world powers are trying to change borders by force, what does it mean for Christ’s love to (re)move borders? And, ultimately, how do we discern between ideological pacifism and true unity?
Mathilda Johnson is world vice president of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women. She also serves as lay president for the Methodist Church in The Gambia. Below, she reflects on her childhood, her top women’s issues, and her hope for her sisters in Africa.
From the gateway to the eastern Mediterranean and its pearl, Beirut, an ecumenical delegation came to the Middle East in order to visit spiritual leaders who historically constituted the pillars of ecumenical work.
Right Rev. Dr Emily Onyango, assistant bishop, Anglican Diocese of Bondo, Kenya, was ordained in 1987—the second woman priest ordained in all of east Africa—and appointed as assistant bishop in 2021. She also serves as a lecturer for St Paul’s University. Below, she reflects on her path to becoming a church leader, the resistance she encountered, and her message to young people today.
Rev. Prof. Dr Heike Springhart is bishop of Landeskirche in Baden. Below, she offers reflections on her hopes for the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly and, more broadly, how ecumenical relationships can help us all sustain a sense of hope during these challenging times.
Media accreditation to the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, 31 August – 8 September 2022, remains open.
I believed Christian unity to be an ideal we strive for, perhaps analogous to the saying "if you shoot for the moon, you'll land in the stars." In the times I have seen Christian Unity manifest, often in times of prayer and most often when hands and feet are moving to answer prayer, it has been fleeting, almost illusory.
Oberkirchenrat Dr Marc Witzenbacher serves as coordinator of the local office of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. In this interview, he shares how the city is preparing to welcome visitors from all over the world.
Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber of the Evangelical Church in Germany, a member of the WCC central committee, reflects below on her hopes and prayers as the assembly draws ever-closer.
On 20 May 2022, a group of us, 14 pilgrims from different parts of the world (Kenya, Brussels, Germany, Hong Kong, Philippines, Poland, Rome, Korea, Canada, Fiji, Australia, London, Scotland, and Geneva—a very diverse group) gathered in Palermo, Italy for a Pilgrim Team Visit on the theme of migration.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee elected Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as the ninth general secretary at its 17 June meeting. Below, Pillay reflects on his longstanding passion for ecumenism and his expectations for the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.
Dr Elizabeth Joy was the first woman ever to be shortlisted as a nominee for the general secretary of the World Council of Churches. A director at Churches Together in England, she is from the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. She grew up in both India and the United Kingdom. Below, during an interview held the day after the WCC elections, she reflects on her roots in the ecumenical movement, and on her message to the WCC.
Global Christian Forum sustains imperative role in a post-pandemic world and reaches out to new groups of people. Global meeting to be held in Ghana in 2024.
My name is Tobias Nissen, I am an 18-year-old UK / Danish dual national who has lived in France my whole life. I attended school in Geneva, Switzerland and during my final years of education, I wrote an essay about the effects that climate change is having on low-lying Pacific countries. From this point on my interest in the Pacific region grew, and when I received the opportunity to work as an intern for the Pacific Conference of Churches, in Fiji for 2 months, I knew that it would be an experience that I couldn’t miss.
Rev. Dr Jeffrey Carter, Church of the Brethren, is president of Bethany Theological Seminary. His reflections below were drawn from an interview after the confessional meeting with historic peace churches and the Moravians that occurred during the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting. Carter is a member of the central committee.
The upcoming central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 15 – 18 June will be the sixth meeting of this central committee since it was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013.
Rev. Dr Hyunju Bae represents the Presbyterian Church of Korea on the World Council of Churches central and executive committees and serves on the WCC Gender Advisory Group. She is a former professor of New Testament Studies at the Busan Presbyterian University, Republic of Korea, and now a co-president of the Korea Christian Environmental Movement Solidarity for Integrity of Creation. Below, she reflects on a recent prayer vigil for peace, as well as other ecumenical activities in South Korea.
Media accreditation to the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, 31 August – 8 September 2022, remains open.
The upcoming central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 15 – 18 June will be the sixth meeting of this central committee since it was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2013.
