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South Sudanese church leaders have welcomed a new cabinet, which the country’s president Salva Kiir Mayardit announced on 12 March.

The unveiling of the cabinet ended months of anxious waiting for a new unity government which was mandated by a 2018 peace pact, known as the Revitalised Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. The government has 34 ministers and 10 deputies.

A pastor has shared firsthand information regarding a dire situation in Cameroon. The pastor’s name and other details are being withheld in an effort to increase security yet still communicate candidly.

In a joint appeal to Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation expressed grief at the continuing violence in Nigeria and urged the Nigerian government to better protect the people.

Amid persistent worldwide spiritual and moral appeals for peace, reconciliation, and support, the government of South Sudan and holdout opposition groups recommitted to cessation of hostilities in a peace declaration brokered by the Sant’ Egidio, a Rome-based lay Catholic movement.

Young African clergy, theologians and laypersons are eager to engage with the challenging issues facing their continent and the world. This became clear in a recent essay competition for authors below 35 years by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).

The South Sudan Council of Churches in its Christmas message calls for peace among communities in South Sudan and respect towards the ethnic differences. Christmastime is a time for justice, peace, healing and reconciliation, the message reflects.

On 9 December, a delegation led by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met with the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and cabinet ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In the wake of violence against a worshiping congregation in the town of Hantoukoura in Burkina Faso on 1 December, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit condemned the attack on innocent people gathered to worship on the first Sunday in Advent.

A message released 9 November from the South Sudan Council of Churches reflected that the will for peace is not measured only by deadlines and technical arrangements. “Whether the government is formed on 12th November 2019 or a further extension is agreed, it is a question of the heart and of the political will,” the message reads. “The people of South Sudan have begged their political leaders to find a peaceful way forward, to look beyond political interest, emotional turmoil and historical grievances, and to hold their duty towards the people of the country as a sacred calling which is to be gravely cherished in holy servitude and with deep respect.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the ACT Alliance, in a joint letter to Burkina Faso president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, expressed concern for developments affecting the secu-rity and human rights of many of the nation’s people.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) offers its congratulations to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2019. Since his election as Prime Minister in April 2018, Mr Ahmed has championed an impressive programme of positive and inspiring reform initiatives, and played a decisive role in the reconciliation of the two synods and fostered unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The achievement which this award particularly recognizes is his leadership in bringing an formal end to the twenty-year long fratricidal conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Churches across southern Africa are publicly saying #EnoughIsEnough,” with many denominations and congregations continuing to issue strong statements, arrange special prayer events, and speak out against rising levels of violence.

Both the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) have been discussing gender justice and how to keep the momentum going on the unprecedented public demand for change.

Minister of Human Rights of The Democratic Republic of the Congo Andre Lite Asebea visited WCC headquarters in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the human rights situation in Congo with the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

As global and regional ecumenical organizations, churches and mission societies met in Wuppertal, Germany from 7-9 September, they discussed the deteriorating situation affecting the Anglophone communities and regions of Cameroon.

A new concern for South Sudan is emerging, as African religious leaders warn that the failure to implement the latest peace agreement could push the young nation back into war.

The leaders spoke in Nairobi on 12 September, the day the world’s newest nation marked a year since the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

The Council of Churches in Zambia released a press statement on 3 September indicating its refusal to submit thoughts on a controversial bill that would change the nation’s constitution.

Erhard Hermansen is general secretary of the Christian Council of Norway, which has been collaborating closely with churches in Sudan and South Sudan for nearly 30 years. Hermansen attended the South Sudan Council of Churches 2019 Assembly in late August, and shares his reflections and hopes below.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, together with its campaigners in West Africa, held a regional forum for members of the Economic Community of West African States as well as civil society organisations in Abuja, Nigeira from15-16 August.

On 26-29 August, the South Sudan Council of Churches held its 2019 Assembly, and delegates issued resolutions related to the governance of the organization, and to the path forward for peace and justice.

The South Sudan Council of Churches, an ecumenical body of seven members and associate members, held its first General Assembly since the independence of the largely Christian and animist country in 2011.