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A House panel in the United States Congress advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves by approving legislation, commonly referred to as H.R. 40, on 15 April that would create a commission to study the issue. The “40” refers to the failed government effort to provide 40 acres (16 hectares) of land to newly freed slaves as the Civil War drew to a close.

It's the first time the House Judiciary Committee has acted on the legislation.

The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians published a statement entitled “Mama, Mama…I Can’t Breathe!” that expresses heartbreak over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a policeman.

“Floyd pleaded for his life to no avail until he finally succumbed to death,” reads the statement. “The community has been pleading, ‘Black Lives Matter.’ ”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) co-convened a workshop on 28 January to plan faith-based support for the 25-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action, a comprehensive international instrument for addressing the full range of issues faced by women globally.

Through adoption of a resolution in support of the Thursdays in Black campaign in August, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly has publicly affirmed the church’s commitment to fostering gender justice. The action is a significant official step that now formally “calls upon all people across all expressions of the church to participate in the #ThursdaysinBlack campaign by wearing black on Thursdays and actively participating in the various reflection and action items.”

En adoptant une résolution de soutien à la campagne des Jeudis en noir en août dernier, l’Assemblée des Églises de l’Église évangélique luthérienne d’Amérique (ELCA, dans ses sigles anglais) a affirmé publiquement l’engagement de l’Église en faveur d’une plus grande justice sensible à la spécificité des sexes. Cette action est une étape officielle de poids qui, désormais, «appelle toute personne de toute expression ecclésiale à participer à la campagne #ThursdaysinBlack en portant du noir les jeudis et à prendre activement part à différentes réflexions et actions».

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is standing in solidarity with the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and WCC member churches in the USA as they demand an end to gun violence, racist rhetoric, and white supremacy.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has released “A 60-Day Journey Toward Justice in a Culture of Gun Violence,” a collection of daily observances that call people to face the painful truth of gun violence and work for its prevention.

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.”

“What can one person do” can often sound like a lament about powerlessness.

For Thursdays in Black, though, one person can build a movement.

David Emmanuel Goatley, Faculty Director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke University Divinity School in North Carolina, USA, learned about Thursdays in Black through his involvement with the World Council of Churches’ Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. He has now launched the campaign through the Office at Duke University.

«Que peut faire une personne seule» résonne souvent comme une plainte devant notre impuissance.

Pour les Jeudis en noir, cependant, une personne seule peut construire un mouvement.

David Emmanuel Goatley, Directeur de faculté du Bureau des Études des Églises noires à la Divinity School de l’Université Duke en Caroline du nord, aux États-Unis, a découvert les Jeudis en noir lorsqu’il s’est engagé dans le Pèlerinage de justice et de paix du Conseil œcuménique des Églises. Il a maintenant lancé la campagne par le biais du Bureau à l’Université Duke.

Respect for the other lies at the heart of peace education and was a key thread through a debate entitled “Education for Peace in a multi-religious world”. It was held on the 2018 World Human Rights Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed heartfelt sympathies to the Tree of Life synagogue and to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) after a gunman shot and killed 11 people and injured several others during a baby naming ceremony on 27 October.

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, will address participants at this week’s “Act Now to End Racism” march and rally in Washington, D.C.

In a “Holy Week Statement of Lament and Solidarity” for Maundy Thursday, the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network demanded an end to gun violence in America. The statement, developed for use in prayer on Maundy Thursday as well as other Holy Week liturgy, decries the response to gun violence against children in the USA as “scarce and insufficient.”

Traveling from Tanzania, Esther Ngulwa brought a sense of hope regarding gender equality as she spoke on 10 March, two days before the start of the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) in New York City.

The Meeting on the Implementation of the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes will take place in the Vienna International Center, United Nations Office in Vienna, from 13-15 February 2018.

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson has a unique position in observing and advocating for women’s rights or, as she would quickly clarify, “the fair treatment of human beings” no matter what their gender. As bishop-in-residence at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, she ministers to church members who were not only present at this week’s Golden Globe Awards – they were the nominees. And, as vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, she is part of a global parish, traveling to communities far removed from the privilege of Hollywood, where violence occurs against women who are seen by their own communities as having no voice and no rights.

L’évêque Mary Ann Swenson occupe une position unique en matière d’observation et de défense des droits des femmes ou, comme elle se hâterait de rectifier, du «traitement équitable des êtres humains» quel que soit leur sexe. En tant qu’évêque résidente de l’Église méthodiste unie à Hollywood, en Californie (États-Unis), elle exerce son ministère auprès de fidèles qui n’ont pas seulement assisté aux Golden Globe Awards de cette semaine: ils ont également concouru pour les prix décernés. D’autre part, en tant que vice-présidente du Comité central du COE, elle fait partie d’une paroisse mondiale qui se rend dans des communautés très éloignées des quartiers privilégiés d’Hollywood, où les violences faites aux femmes sont une réalité: leurs propres communautés ne leur reconnaissent aucun droit, notamment à la parole.

Douglas Leonard, from the Reformed Church in America (RCA), was announced as the new coordinator of the Ecumenical United Nations Office (EUNO), a joint working space of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance, in New York.

At a “Hearing on Racism, Discrimination, Afrophobia and Xenophobia” held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 25 September, speakers reflected, lamented and, at times, simply sat in silence as they considered the experience of people of African descent in the USA.