The World Council of Churches (WCC) sent a message with prayers and hope to the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. “As you know the WCC is a fellowship of churches that seeks the unity of Christians in the world,” wrote WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.
Le secrétaire général du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE), le pasteur Jerry Pillay, a rencontré le président sud-africain Cyril Ramaphosa pour évoquer les initiatives de paix dans le monde et le rôle du COE et des dirigeant-e-s sud-africain-e-s.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, discussing peace initiatives across the globe—and the role of the WCC and South African leaders.
I received a call from a friend of mine - we both work as medical doctors and had earlier realised that our husbands, who are ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, had been friends for years —this is one of the reasons that drew us to each other. She had been attending the February meeting of the Methodist Women’s Prayer and Service Union (Manyano), Connexional Extended Executive Meeting. My friend said that the general president, Gretta Makhwenkwe, had appointed us to the Wellness Committee.
South African Council of Churches general secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, released a video message of peace and reassurance as, he notes, more and more voices are reaching out for the word of God.
Prof. Dr Sarojini Nadar is director of the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, University of Western Cape, South Africa. Below, she reflects on outcomes from the inaugural “Ecumenical Women’s Initiative for Leadership and Learning” held in May.
A Zoom panel on 30 January 2022 recalled the witness of Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) and to celebrate the publication of a new book, Ecumenical Encounters with Desmond Mpilo Tutu, honouring his life and work and presented to him on his 90th birthday.
Lorsque le pasteur Frank Chikane était secrétaire général du Conseil des Églises d'Afrique du Sud pour dénoncer les injustices du régime de l'apartheid, son travail s’est poursuivi même après la démolition du bâtiment abritant les bureaux du Conseil dans les années 1980 suite à une bombe. Modérateur de la Commission des Églises pour les affaires internationales du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) depuis 2016, le pasteur Frank Chikane s'est engagé dans la lutte contre les injustices dans de nombreuses régions. Le département de communication du COE a demandé au pasteur Frank Chikane de revenir sur son mandat à la commission et sur l'appel permanent des églises à s'attaquer aux injustices dans le monde d'aujourd'hui.
When Rev. Frank Chikane was leading the South African Council of Churches in calling out injustices of the apartheid system, their work did not stop even after the council’s office building was bombed to the ground in 1980s. Moderating the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 2016, Rev. Chikane has been engaged in addressing injustices in many parts of the world. WCC Communication asked Rev. Chikane to look back at his term at the commission and the ongoing calling of churches to address injustices in the world today.
As many communities worldwide battle to get food to the table, a World Council of Churches (WCC) webinar titled ‘Racism, Land and Food' highlighted the intersections of food, land, and racial injustices on food sovereignty over generations of dispossessed groups.
La Commission des Églises pour les affaires internationales (CEAI) du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) a facilité l’engagement des Églises dans un large éventail de questions cruciales pour le monde depuis la dernière Assemblée du COE à Busan. La 58e réunion de la CEAI du COE, qui a rassemblé des représentants des Églises à Johannesburg et en ligne, s’est conclue par la célébration du 75e anniversaire de la création de la Commission.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) has facilitated churches’ engagement in a wide range of critical issues of the world since the last WCC Assembly in Busan, concluded the 58th meeting of the WCC CCIA, gathering church representatives in Johannesburg and online in the 75th anniversary year of the Commission’s creation.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, one of South Africa's most famous persons, has turned 90 with a Eucharist service celebration at Cape Town's St George's Cathedral, receiving an outpouring of love from around the world. Tutu made a rare public appearance on 7 October at the iconic Cape Town cathedral, the site of prayers and protests during the apartheid era, where he attended a special thanksgiving service.
On 18 July, prayer services in South Africa will mark Nelson Mandela’s birthday and will also be an opportunity to pray for unity.
The Religious Forum Against COVID-19 has elected to observe the day in both a nationally broadcast prayer service as well as observing 67 minutes of prayer that evening.
The South African Council of Churches, in a 15 July statement, called for supporting a campaign of restoration and addressing the root causes of the unrest that is happening simultaneously with a third wave of COVID-19.
A 12 July statement from the South African Council of Churches notes with deep concern the violence and destruction of property that is engulfing the nation. “This violence is resulting in untold suffering,” the statement reads.
The Religious Forum Against COVID-19 in South Africa issued a statement with faith leaders standing in solidarity in response to COVID-19, and with a broader objective of collaborating in making for a safer South African environment.
In a message on 15 October, Rev. Dr David Tswaedi, executive director of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa, lamented that the voices of survivors and victims of gender-based violence have been muted, due to stigma and the perceived power of the perpetrators.
South African church leaders heard that corruption in their country kills when they organized for a campaign against the latest version of pillaging during the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
On 15 September, the South African Council of Churches will stand in silent prayer in all nine provinces to declare that “Corruption is Not Our Heritage.”