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Damaris, a Nigerian woman, described her experience of 2020: “We’ve gone through hell.”

Damaris and her sisters were kidnapped in March 2020 and threatened with death as their kidnappers demanded money. Her father had to sell everything and beg on the streets to meet their demands. “We are just a common people in Nigeria,” she said. “We don’t know what we did.”

A webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 26 November will explore “Conflict Zones and Covid-19: A call to compassion.” Speakers from Cameroon, Nigeria, South Sudan, Lebanon, Belarus and Colombia will offer their insights on how conflict exacerbates the conditions for contracting and treating COVID-19 among civilians caught in the crossfire, especially women.

Marie Bassili Assaad, an ecumenical leader who was WCC deputy general secretary from 1980 to 1986, passed away on 30 August, at the age of 96. Her funeral took place in Egypt on 2 September.

Marie Bassili Assaad, una dirigente ecuménica que fue secretaria general adjunta del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) de 1980 a 1986, falleció el 30 de agosto a los 96 años de edad. Su funeral tuvo lugar en Egipto el 2 de septiembre.

In a highly unusual action, the leaders of Jerusalem’s churches closed the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday. The united protest was in response to moves by Jerusalem authorities to begin collecting tens of millions of dollars in taxes from churches, as well as proposed legislation to confiscate church-owned land.

En una acción insólita, los dirigentes de las iglesias de Jerusalén cerraron el domingo las puertas de la Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro. La protesta conjunta respondía a la decisión de las autoridades de Jerusalén de empezar a recaudar decenas de millones de dólares en concepto de impuestos a las iglesias, así como a la propuesta legislativa de confiscar tierras propiedad de las iglesias.

Church must be a safe place where sinners are welcome to learn and change, and where the wounded can share their pains and find refuge, says Maria Dous, a medical student from Egypt. In July, she participated in a seminar organized by the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network at the WCC's Ecumenical Institute Bossey.

La iglesia debe ser un lugar seguro donde se acoja a los pecadores para que aprendan y cambien, donde quienes tienen heridas puedan compartir su dolor y encontrar refugio, dice María Dous, una estudiante de medicina de Egipto. En julio, María participó en un seminario organizado por la Red Ecuménica Panafricana para el Empoderamiento de las Mujeres (PAWEEN), un proyecto del Departamento de Educación Teológica Ecuménica del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), en el Instituto Ecuménico de Bossey del CMI. La siguiente entrevista forma parte de una serie que presenta la visión de algunas de las participantes

The Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) in Egypt is working on an advanced gender approach. In a country which is facing enormous challenges, more than ever a development agency has to be up to date on the needs of the people.

Reconciliation was once primarily seen as a message of the church but is now used by secular leaders trying to establish peace in communities torn by conflict and war, the WCC president for Africa, the Rev. Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, has said at a major Protestant gathering in Germany.

Religious leaders in Cyprus stood together against violence towards women and girls, releasing a first-ever official joint statement on 8 March to mark International Women’s Day.

The #SyriaCrisis has raged for five brutal years and another round of talks involving the world’s powerful nations and those involved in the conflict to push for peace could be starting to finally end the warring.

Reduction in and prevention of statelessness, and the protection of stateless people in the Middle East provided the focus of a workshop organized by the WCC and the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut, Lebanon.

The WCC general secretary extended prayers and congratulations to Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom who has been honoured for his services in promoting human rights and religious freedom.

Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.