The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee opened on 21 June with common prayer that recalled the 75th anniversary of the founding of the WCC in 1948 and remembered those active in the ecumenical movement who have died over the past year.
The latest group of World Council of Churches (WCC) ecumenical accompaniers reported incidents between 14 April and 22 May that ranged from violence to displacement, from harassment to intimidation in the West Bank.
As churches in the southern hemisphere closed the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 28 May, they brought final reflections to this year’s theme of “Do good; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17).”
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated in the southern hemisphere from 21-28 May. Below, Rev. Canon Michael Wallace, vicar for the Dunedin North Anglican Parish Te Pāriha o Ōtepoti ki te Raki, reflects on his hopes for observing the special week in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Churches in the southern hemisphere will observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 21-28 May, the week between Ascension and Pentecost. This year’s theme is “Do good; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17).”
خلال الذكرى الخامسة والسبعين للنكبة، أو "الكارثة"، الفلسطينية - حين تمّ تهجير مئات الآلاف من الفلسطينيين أثناء قيام دولة إسرائيل في عام 1948- أعرب الأمين العام لمجلس الكنائس العالمي، القس البروفسور الدكتور "جيري بيلاي" عن تضامنه مع الكنائس الأعضاء في الأرض المقدسة.
The upcoming Barbados Gospelfest, set for 21-28 May, will express churches’ affirmation and celebration of persons with disabilities in musical and other creative ways.
During the 75th commemoration of what Palestinians refer to as the nakba, or “catastrophe”—when hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted during Israel's creation in 1948—World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with member churches in the Holy Land.
Pastor Joachim Leberecht, from Herzogenrath/Germany, has won the international Menno Simons Sermon Award from the Center for Peace Church Theology (University of Hamburg) together with the Mennonite congregation Hamburg-Altona.
"أستطيع أن أرعى الأغنام بالقرب من القاعدة العسكرية لأني أشعر بالأمان بوجود المرافقين المسكونيين، ومضايقات المستوطنين تصبح أقل بكثير عند وجودكم في الجوار"
מועצת הכנסיות העולמית (WCC) הוציאה גיליון עובדות בנוגע להריסות במזרח ירושלים המשמש כמקור למידע אמין עבור הכנסיות החברות ב-WCC, עבור מלווים אקומניים והתקשורת.
"The soldiers went away because you were watching.”
“I am able to herd my sheep near the military base because I feel safe in the presence of ecumenical accompaniers, and settler harassment is much less when you are around.”
“We feel safe when the ecumenical accompaniers are present.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC) released a fact sheet on demolitions in East Jerusalem that serves as a source of credible information for WCC member churches, ecumenical accompaniers, and the media.
The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) has published a “2023 Easter Prayer for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula”, an annual observance which carries special significance this year, 70 years after the Korean War ceasefire established by the 1953 Armistice Agreement.
Six ecumenical accompaniers participated in a Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, entering Jerusalem with hundreds of faithful from around the world—commemorating the journey taken by Jesus some 2,000 years ago.
During a Global Peace Prayer on 22 March, Christians across the world drew together to pray for peace in a broken world, and to listen to voices from people suffering in Ukraine and other conflict-ridden areas.
In the aftermath of the attack against the Gethsemane Orthodox Church on 19 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office co-organized a solidarity visit to the church.
A Global Peace Prayer on 22 March will draw Christians together in hope for a better future. A communique from a prayer planning committee explained that Christians are called into prayer and advocacy for peace. “In a global context where war and violence abound, the practice of peace has become even more urgent,” reads the message.
Below, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Public Witness and Diakonia, reflects on the relevance of ecumenical diakonia and public witness today.
