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As the latest set of World Council of Churches (WCC) ecumenical accompaniers left Palestine and Israel, ushering in a new set who will take the mantle, a handover ceremony brought heartfelt prayers for a just peace in the region. 

As the Global Christian Forum closed in Ghana on 19 April, the gathering shared a message focusing on moving beyond a posture of “us” and “them,” and on how we can be inspired to act together for the restoration of the world. 

The Global Christian Forum, with its fourth global gathering underway in Ghana, is marking its 25^thanniversary at a time when the world is in dire need of justice, reconciliation, and unity.

Mount Zion, located just outside the current walls of the Old City, via Zion Gate, is of great importance to Christians because this is the area of Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle (the traditional spot for remembering the Last Supper and washing of the Apostles’ feet), and where the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the event of Pentecost.

תקופת הזמן שעברה מתאריך ה-7 באוקטובר 2023 תוארה במספר רב של דרכים—ומילותיה של רובי דמלין הן “מבחן אמיתי של מערכות האמונה שלך.”

“אנו לא נעזוב את רצועת עזה כל עוד יש כנסיה אחת שעומדת.”

“אנו לא נהיה הנוצרים האחרונים שיעזבו את רצועת עזה.”

“איבדנו את הכל, אבל אנו לא יכולים לאבד את המשימה שלנו ואת השייכות שלנו למקום זה הכל כך יקר ללב שלנו.”

“זהו המקום בו החלה הנצרות וכאן היא תמשיך להתקיים.”  

אלו המילים שאנשים ממלמלים כאשר נאדר אבו אמשה, מנכ"ל המחלקה לשירותים לפליטים פלסטינים של מועצת הכנסיות במזרח התיכון (DSPR-MECC), מנסה לעזור להם פשוט לעבור את היום.

The stretch of time since 7 October 2023 has been described in many ways—and Robi Damelin’s words are “a real test of your belief systems.”

“We won’t leave Gaza as long as there is a standing church.” 

“We will not be the last Christians living in Gaza.” “

“We lost everything, but we can’t lose our mission and our belonging to this place dear to our hearts.”

“Christianity started here and will continue to be here.”  

These are the words people are uttering as Nader Abu Amsha, executive director of Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches (DSPR-MECC), tries to help them simply survive the next day. 

לאב פרנס בואן, כומר בכנסייה הקתולית שחי ופועל למען אקומניזם בירושלים מאז 1969, יש תיאור מובהק של המצב בפלסטין ובישראל כיום.

Father Frans Bouwen, a priest in the Catholic church who has been living and working for ecumenism in Jerusalem since 1969, has a stark description of the situation in Palestine and Israel today. 

In an online conference organized by the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations on 5 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) was represented among inter-religious voices bringing their concerns and sense of solidarity in the lead-up to International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on 8 March. 

In an annual audience during the ongoing Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Bishop Bo-Göran Åstrand of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland gifted a pair of gloves to Pope Francis, described as “a modest gift, to warm the Pope’s hands in an otherwise cold world.” 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission met for the first full meeting, which took place on 27 and 29 November, and 1 and 4 December online. 

A new publication, “Towards a Global Vision of the Church, Volume II,” was released during a webinar on 14 December hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order. 

The moment religious leaders from around 40 faith-based organisations worldwide agreed to keep defending the individual right to seek asylum during a gathering in Geneva marked a high point on the eve of the Global Refugee Forum, the world's biggest such international gathering.They met at a one-day event on 12 December at the World Council of Churches (WCC), chaired by an Armenian archbishop and a UN diplomat who was once a Turkish legislator.