Displaying 41 - 60 of 196

CCIA meets in Brisbane with focus on Pacific regional priorities

Impacts of the climate change and the lingering health and environmental effects of nuclear testing on the countries in the Pacific region are among the issues to be discussed at the meeting of the WCC’s Commission of Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), convened from 19 to 21 February in Brisbane, Australia.

Indigenous theologians offer “living word” on interconnectedness amid violence

A community of indigenous theologians has offered a message, “Our Living Word for all Peoples,” that holds particular meaning amid violence suffered by indigenous people in the Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador.The message speaks to the interrelatedness of all that surrounds us. “We flatly denounce the criminalization of our bodies, struggles, and resistances,” reads the message. “This criminalization is supported by an old colonial religious prejudice that equates us with demons, terrorists, and criminals, with the intent to disqualify bodies, struggles, and resistances.”

Indigenous youth to convene pilgrimage in Japan

Promoting justice, peace and racial awareness, indigenous youth will gather in Osaka, Japan from 8-12 September. Collaborating with the World Council of Churches, the youth from around the world will continue to build on indigenous youth leadership initiatives begun in the past few years, affirming the growing visibility and presence of indigenous youth leadership in the ecumenical movement.

WCC general secretary meets with Indigenous representative from Latin America

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.

Indigenous peoples uniquely equipped to combat climate change

Indigenous peoples are not only on the frontline of climate change impacts, they are also uniquely equipped with expertise to help defend ecology. Two groups - the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples’ Networks Reference Group and the Working Group on Climate Change of the World Council of Churches (WCC) - underscored this idea as they met to discuss the world’s climate emergency. Both are composed of theologians, indigenous persons, scientists and experts on ecology and economy, representing churches from around the world.

"Diversity" documentary reflects on maze of self-identity in Canada

"Let us all learn how to listen without interrupting, and how to speak without accusing, and how to share without pretending, how to enjoy without complaint, how to trust without wavering, how to promise without forgetting, and how to forgive - and forgive is the greatest teaching in Islam - without punishing."

Churches express solidarity with indigenous peoples at UN Permanent Forum

From 16-27 April, the United Nations headquarters in New York City is hosting the 17th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is assisting the participation of a representative of the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples Network Reference Group (EIPNRG) and co-sponsored a public event that explored ways that the church can move into a new phase of interaction with indigenous communities.

Protect the Amazon, urges WCC statement

“The Amazon, the green heart of the Earth, is mourning and the life it sustains is withering,” begins a statement released by the World Council of Churches Executive Committee as it met in Amman, Jordan from 17-23 November.

Une déclaration du COE exhorte à protéger l'Amazonie

«L'Amazonie, le cœur vert de la Terre, pleure et la vie qu'elle entretient dépérit»: c'est par ces mots que commence une déclaration publiée par le Comité exécutif du Conseil œcuménique des Églises à l'occasion de sa réunion à Amman, en Jordanie, du 17 au 23 novembre.

Blanket Exercise uncovers deep injustices in Canadian history

The report issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June 2015 on abuse of aboriginal children in church-run residential schools included a call for non-aboriginal Canadians to learn about the impact of European settlers and their descendants on the country’s indigenous peoples. Church people have taken that call seriously.