The World Council of Churches (WCC) shared joyful greetings on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Argentine Commission for Refugees and Migrants (CAREF).
The World Council of Churches, in partnership with Centro Evangélico de Misiología Andino Amazónica, will host a Consultation on Evangelism in Theological Education and Missiological Formation In Latin America.
El Rev. Dr. Odair Pedroso Mateus comenzó a impartir clases en el Instituto Ecuménico de Bossey en 2004 y empezó a trabajar en el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) en 2007. En estos últimos tiempos, ha sido secretario general adjunto en funciones del CMI y director de Fe y Constitución. A continuación, reflexiona sobre sus mejores recuerdos, sus logros y sus esperanzas.
Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus began to teach at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in 2004 and joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2007. Most recently he served as WCC interim deputy general secretary and Faith and Order director. Below, he reflects on his fondest memories, accomplishments, and hopes.
Located in the Flores neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires, for almost 50 years the Argentine Commission for Refugees and Migrants has carried out committed work in favor of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
476 million indigenous people live around the world, of which 11.5% live in our Latin American region. In these years that we are going from the COVID 19 pandemic in our territories (indigenous or tribal at the Latin American level), the presence of many extractive companies, mainly uranium and lithium, has increased, land traffickers and among other monoculture companies with fires for the cultivation of oil palm, logging, putting vulnerable peoples at greater risk than what is already experienced.
Rev. Inácio Lemke is president of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC). He is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil. This interview is part of a series dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Norwegian churches added their voice to the chorus of concern for the people of the Amazon as the coronavirus increasingly spreads. In a letter to the Brazilian embassy, the Church of Norway and the Roman Catholic Church in Norway jointly expressed deep solidarity with the people of Brazil.
Las iglesias de Noruega han sumado su voz a la alarma por los pueblos de la Amazonia ante la creciente propagación del coronavirus. En una carta a la embajada de Brasil, la Iglesia de Noruega y la Iglesia Católica Romana en Noruega expresaron conjuntamente su solidaridad con el pueblo brasileño.
As Christians across the world prepare to celebrate Easter shuttered in their homes, they will still find the joy of the day and feel closer to each other, thanks to creative thinking by church leaders.
From including photos of church members within webcast worship services, to placing written greetings at doorways, Easter celebrations can still safely connect people who want to celebrate the resurrection of their common Lord.
Los cristianos del mundo entero que se preparan para celebrar la Pascua encerrados en sus hogares seguirán encontrando la alegría de este día y se sentirán más cerca de los demás gracias al pensamiento creativo de los dirigentes de las iglesias.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met last week with Rev. Miguel Salanic, from Guatemala, in Geneva, Switzerland. They discussed the role of indigenous people as part of the living WCC fellowship and the preparations leading up to the WCC 11th Assembly to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2021.
“As Christians, we are called every day to generously practice hospitality”, said Bishop Samuel Aguilar, from the Methodist Church of Peru, as he lamented cases of xenophobia, discrimination and violence suffered by thousands of Venezuelans in different parts of Latin America.
“Como cristianos, todos los días estamos llamados a practicar la hospitalidad con generosidad”, dijo el obispo Samuel Aguilar, de la Iglesia Metodista del Perú, al tiempo que lamentaba los casos de xenofobia, discriminación y violencia sufridos por miles de venezolanos en diferentes partes de América Latina.
Ma’alul, a Palestinian village destroyed in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, saw a visit by ecumenical accompaniers in mid-March. “I would have liked to invite you to a real home, not just as a refugee,” said Jad Saba Yusef Salem as he received the group of accompaniers to the village. Today, 95-year-old Salem is one of few remaining survivors from the 75 families who used to live in the village back in 1948.
Ma’alul, un pueblo palestino destruido durante la guerra árabe-israelí de 1948, recibió a mediados de marzo la visita de un grupo de acompañantes ecuménicos.
On 18-22 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission gathered at Faculdade Unida de Vitoria in Brazil for a consultation entitled “Towards a Global Vision of the Church”.
On 14-16 December, the Conference of European Churches and Cumberland Lodge in the UK will host an Ecumenical Conference on Human Rights with the theme “Towards Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities.”
“I didn’t have any document that says who I am, so I started to look for answers that would help me to understand the real definition of my condition as a stateless person”, said Maha Mamo in a video interview published by World Council of Churches communications.
Heads of churches in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories have reacted with dismay and concern to the Israeli Knesset’s adoption on 19 July 2018 of a new Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, which specifies that “The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”
