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As its 12th General Assembly in Kanaky (New Caledonia) concluded, the Pacific Conference of Churches, in an outcome statement, expressed a vision for leading change through transformation. 

Der Generalsekretär des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK) Pastor Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay besucht vom 24. bis 25. April Sri Lanka. Bei dem Besuch kommt er mit dem Nationalen Kirchenrat von Sri Lanka, Kirchenleitenden, Theologinnen und Theologen sowie Regierungsvertreterinnen und Regierungsvertretern zusammen, um deren tiefgreifenden Beitrag zur ökumenischen Bewegung zu besprechen. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay visits Sri Lanka on 24-25 April, meeting with the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, heads of churches, theologians, and government officials to discuss their deep contribution to the ecumenical movement.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended prayers and condolences to people in Tonga, and the churches and rescue workers helping them, in the wake of a massive volcanic eruption smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications.

The Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee, based in Papua New Guinea, continues to advocate against sexual violence, and has been lighting a special “lamp of justice and peace” as part of the Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence.

Thursdays in Black grew out of women’s movements of resilience and resistance to injustice, abuse and violence. In the Pacific region, which has some of the highest recorded rates of violence against women, churches are leading conversations to change attitudes and actions. Domestic violence is prevalent throughout Fiji. According to UN Women’s Global Database on Violence against Women, almost 2 out of 3 women aged 18-64 in Fiji have experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partner – almost twice the global average.

As the people of Maohi (French Polynesia) are remembering the seventh year of their re- inscription on the United Nations decolonisation list, the Pacific Conference of Churches, in a 19 June statement, called on France to act with justice.

In a statement to the president of the Republic of Indonesia, Papuan religious leaders are urging justice for seven defendants on trial in the Balikpapan - East Kalimantan District Court who held a demonstration because they were rejecting racist treatment. “But the indictments and charges at the trial were very different from the data and facts in the field,” reads the statement. “They are victims of racism but they have been accused of treason.”

In a 5 May message entitled “The Story of our Pacific Household in the ‘New Normal,’ ” the Pacific Conference of Churches acknowledges those risking their lives to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

Taking into consideration the growing global concerns and implications of the current spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), the World Council of Churches (WCC) will postpone its annual Ecumenical Continuing Formation on Youth seminar in the Pacific to the end of the year 2020, with a date to be announced. The event was scheduled for June 2020 in Tonga.
The WCC is taking steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including cancelling or postponing certain meetings and limiting travels.

Junge Erwachsene können sich jetzt zur Teilnahme an einem vom Ökumenischen Rat der Kirchen (ÖRK) veranstalteten Seminar zur ökumenischen Fortbildung anmelden, das im Juni 2020 stattfindet. Das in Tonga durchgeführte Seminar befasst sich mit transformativer Männlichkeit und Weiblichkeit

Die Frist für die Anmeldung zum Seminar läuft bis zum 20. März.

Applications are open to young people for participation in a June 2020 World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Continuing Formation seminar. To be held in Tonga, the seminar will focus on transformative masculinity and femininity.

The deadline for applications is 20 March.

Die Auftaktveranstaltung des Fastenzeit-Kampagne „Sieben Wochen im Zeichen des Wassers“ fand am 21. Januar in Suva, Fidschi mit dem Thema „Ein Pilgerweg der Wassergerechtigkeit in der Pazifik-Region“ statt. 2020 hat der Pilgerweg der Gerechtigkeit und des Friedens des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK) einen regionalen Schwerpunkt in der Pazifik-Region.

The pre-launch of the Lenten campaign “Seven Weeks for Water” was held in Suva, Fiji, on 21 January, under the theme “A Pilgrimage of Water Justice in the Pacific Region.” In 2020, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace has a regional focus in the Pacific region.

“The Pacific Conference of Churches welcomes you on board our ecumenical canoe, as we sail and voyage together beyond the fringing reefs and rocks of the many issues that affect us here in the Pacific and globally, and set sail with our eyes firmly fixed on the island of hope,” said Rev. Dr James Bhagwan, Pacific Conference of Churches general secretary as he welcomed participants of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace to Fiji, on 20 January.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) continues to amplify the voice of the indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, who are oppressed by racism and discrimination.

Concerned about the escalating crisis of violence, racism and discrimination against indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, a side event co-sponsored by the WCC was convened during a fall session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss patterns that are oppressing and displacing Papuans.

In a 29 April message, the Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Anglican Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka and a member of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, reflected on the Easter Sunday violence in Christian churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and also in some hotels.

In the wake of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, the Omnia Institute for Contextual Leadership, based in Chicago, lifted up points of hope that peace will win in the end. In a 25 April message, Shanta Premawardhana, president of the institute, wrote that every person of every faith of every nation deserves to wake up in peace. “Every child deserves to feel safe, welcomed, and alive to the promise that each day brings,” Premawardhana wrote. “I'm sure you know that this is why we build Interfaith Peacemaker Teams in Sri Lanka.”

Im Rahmen seiner kontinuierlichen Initiativen für ein Verbot von Atomwaffen hat der ÖRK die Petition Französisch-Polynesiens an die Vereinten Nationen öffentlich unterstützt, die Nachwirkungen der Atombombentests in dem Areal zu thematisieren.