This year, the World Day of Health, which is celebrated annually on 7 April, falls on the third Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church that is dedicated to the Veneration of the Holy Cross.
With a focus on the legacy of nuclear testing and climate change, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is planning a pilgrimage visit to the Marshall Islands on 16-24 November.
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.
El Consejo Nacional de Iglesias de Corea (NCCK, por sus siglas en inglés) ha publicado la “Oración de Pascua 2023 por la paz y la reunificación de la península coreana”, una celebración anual que este año reviste un significado especial al cumplirse setenta años desde el alto el fuego de la Guerra de Corea establecido por el Acuerdo de Armisticio de 1953.
Der Nationale Kirchenrat in Korea hat ein „Ostergebet 2023 für Frieden und Wiedervereinigung auf der koreanischen Halbinsel“ veröffentlicht. Die jährliche Feier hat dieses Jahr eine besondere Bedeutung, weil sich das Koreakrieg-Waffenstillstandsabkommen von 1953 zum 70. Mal jährt.
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.
El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias invita a la comunidad global y a todas las personas de buena voluntad a unirse el 15 de agosto a una oración por la paz y la reconciliación en la península de Corea
Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen lädt die weltweite Gemeinschaft der Kirchen sowie alle Menschen guten Willens ein, sich am 15. August einem Gebet für Frieden und Versöhnung auf der koreanischen Halbinsel anzuschließen.
The World Council of Churches invites the global fellowship and all people of good will to join, on 15 August, a prayer for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.
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.
Durante la bendición de una colcha de retales de la paz recibida como regalo de las mujeres del Congreso Mundial Menonita, el Comité Central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) afirmó su compromiso de orar y abogar por el fin de la violencia de género.
Während der Segnung einer Friedensdecke, die von den Frauen auf der Mennonitischen Weltkonferenz überreicht worden war, hat der Zentralausschuss des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK) seine Verpflichtung bekräftigt, für ein Ende geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt zu beten und sich für dieses Ziel einzusetzen.
During a blessing of a peace quilt received as a gift from the women of the Mennonite World Conference, the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee affirmed its commitment to pray for and advocate for an end to gender-based violence.
From 31 May to 3 June, representatives from the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace Reference Group, Working Group on Climate Change, and the Young People in the Ecumenical Movement of the World Council of Churches formed a Pilgrim Team Visit to indigenous Sami communities in the south of Norway.
As a group of three laureates of the “National Human Rights Award in Colombia” engaged in meetings with diplomats and United Nations representatives in Geneva, a tray lunch event was organized on 8 June at the Ecumenical Centre by the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance to offer the delegation the opportunity to share about the deterioration of the peace process in the country and the importance of international solidarity.
Three World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrim Team Visits, one to Italy, a second to Armenia and a third to Norway, are continuing the WCC’s accompaniment for communities in their quest for justice and peace under the theme of “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” through the lenses of post-war trauma healing, gender justice, and migration.
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.
The Central Mediterranean route is the overseas crossing from North Africa to Italy. Those migrating on this route generally aim to reach Italian shores but leave from a variety of North African countries bordering the Mediterranean. Though in past years most migrants have departed from Libya, which is a destination for migrants as well as a transit country, there is also a proportionally small but growing number of departures from Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria.