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WCC stands in solidarity with victims of major flood in Brazil

“In the midst of death and trauma caused by this terrible event, let us bring our intercessions together, praying that the God of Life will comfort the ones who lost their loved ones and give strength to those involved in the actions of solidarity with the victims,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, as a torrential rainfall took the lives of over 100 people in Petrópolis, Brazil.

Brazilian ecumenical water network launched

An online event held on 22 July marked the launch of the Ecumenical Water Network Brazil, an initiative that intends to articulate several ecumenical organizations and interfaith voices with the purpose of raising awareness about the life cycle of water.

Pulling together for a living River Pardo

Areas around the River Pardo in northeastern Brazil are home to more than one million people. Included in them are traditional communities such as the quilombolas (descendants of runaway African slaves), the geraizeiros and others. Each year they see less water in their river. “This is not solely due to the reduction in rainfall. 

Brazilian city joins “water diagram” initiative headed by Swiss Church Aid

The Brazilian municipality of Juiz de Fora has approved a cooperation agreement with Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER), a member of the WCCs Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN), thus becoming part of an international working group that wants to contribute to good water management and management practices using a water flow diagram. The project also encompasses the city of Bern, Switzerland; Cape Town, in South Africa, and Rio Pardo de Minas, in Brazil.

Hoping against hope

The same week Brazil reached half a million deaths by COVID-19, my parents got the first dose of the vaccine. On my way to work, I pass through a vaccination post full of people, and through a cemetery full of grief. The past year and few months were a mix of fear, indignation and anger for me. But also a time where I saw generosity and hope bloom.

Seminar befasst sich mit der „Brasilianischen Tragödie: eine Gefahr für unser gemeinsames Haus?“

Ein internationales Online-Seminar mit dem Titel „Die brasilianische Tragödie:  eine Gefahr für unser gemeinsames Haus?“ hat leitenden Kirchenverantwortlichen sowie Führungspersonen sozialer Gruppen und Menschenrechtsorganisationen gemeinsam mit prominenten Fachleuten während eines Online-Seminars vom 4.–6. Mai die Gelegenheit gegeben, darüber zu diskutieren, wie der Prozess der Dekonstruktion der Demokratie in Brasilien in den vergangenen Jahren das Land in mehrere Krisen gesteuert hat.

WCC podcast deals with death and dying

The new surge in COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths has drastically increased the need for pastoral care almost everywhere. Brazil and Great Britain are two hard-hit countries, where the pandemic has brought existential questions on the table.  

Brasilianische Kirchen rufen zu transformativer Gerechtigkeit zwischen Rassen auf

Die brutale Tötung des 40-jährigen schwarzen João Alberto Silveira Freitas durch zwei weiße Sicherheitsleute vor einem Supermarkt im brasilianischen Porto Alegre am 19. November, am Vortag des nationalen Tages des schwarzen Bewusstseins, löste im ganzen Land eine Welle der Empörung aus. Mitgliedskirchen des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK) erhoben ihre Stimmen, um diese Tötung zu verurteilen und ihre große Besorgnis über die systematische Rassenungerechtigkeit in Brasilien auszudrücken.

Brazilian churches call for transformative racial justice

The brutal killing of Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas, 40, a black man, at the hands of two white security guards outside a supermarket in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on 19 November, the eve of National Black Consciousness Day, has sparked outrage across the country. World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches raised their voices to condemn the killing and to express deep concern regarding systemic racial injustice in Brazil.

Die ernste Bedrohung des Amazonas wird durch Agrarplünderungen und Missionierung verschärft

Im Regenwald des Amazonas, einem heilige Ort für 34 Millionen Menschen, stöhnt Gottes Schöpfung, denn das Amazonasgebiet leidet unter wachsender Ungleichheit, zunehmender Aneignung von Land, vermehrter Okkupationswirtschaft und einer Lockerung der Umweltschutzgesetze, während seine Beschützer zunehmend kriminalisiert und ermordet und, angestiftet von der Agrarindustrie, immer mehr Brände gelegt werden - und das alles wird durch Missionierung noch verschlimmert.

Amazon’s grave risks exacerbated by agri-plundering, proselytizing

God’s creation groans in the Amazon forest, a sacred space for 34 million people suffering from the growth of inequality, land invasion, extractivism, relaxation of environmental laws, criminalization and murder of its defenders, and arson orchestrated by agribusiness—all of it made worse by proselytizing.