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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.

As South Sudan joined the world in celebrating the International Day of Peace, the country’s church leaders urged speedy implementation of a key peace pact known as the Revitalised - Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

In Cameroon, hundreds of people are praying for peace, and they are also singing, dancing, marching, and listening to reflections led by people of faith who are calling for a ceasefire — now.

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.”

Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi is dean of the Ecumenical Institute, the graduate school which opened its academic year this week. Below, Iwuamadi reflects on the arrival of new students at the Ecumenical Institute during this remarkable time.

In a letter to UN officials, the World Council of Churches (WCC) urges an end to violence and the violation of human rights in Cameroon.

After hearing about death threats against Nobel laureate Dr Denis Mukwege, physician director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Council of Churches (WCC) urged UN officials to call upon the government to ensure the protection of the life of Mukwege.

The 10th Annual Desmond Tutu Peace Lecture, titled “Climate Justice Globally: Now and for the Future,” will take place on 7 October online. Featured speakers will include 23-year-old Vanessa Nakate, a climate activist from Uganda who has been leading a drive for justice related to race, media representation and climate justice; and internationally-known Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World. She also serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She recently participated in a rally and march in Washington, DC, where thousands gathered to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream" speech.

Conflict has ingrained itself in the people of Mozambique for many decades from the days of Portuguese colonial rule, to the ensuing civil war which only ended this century, and now Daesh along with the unseen enemy of COVID-19. So, the churches have their hands full as peacemakers.

Rev. Zenda Chipaka, the first deaf pastor of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe, through a sign language interpreter shared reflections on the importance of listening to advice in her devotion during the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) 8th Biennial General Assembly. The assembly was held 28-29 August.

The Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa issued an urgent call for prayers for the Republic of Cameroon. “We come to you through the medium of this letter with an appeal to support in doing the one thing that we are encouraged to do unceasingly as Christians – to pray,” reads the text. “Friends, we have been reading of stories and seeing the images of the sufferings of our sisters and brothers in the Republic of Cameroon in their struggle with a system that has divided them based on an imposed description of Anglophone and Francophone divide.”

Rev. Dr Lydia Mwaniki, director for Women, Gender and Youth at the All Africa Conference of Churches, has received the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

H.E., Most Rev. Serafim (Kykkotis) of Zimbabwe is the metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Zimbabwe in eastern Africa, part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. He serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive and central committees, and also on the WCC Climate Change Working Group.

On 25 August, a delegation led by the South African Council of Churches met with officials from the African National Congress to call for societal action against COVID-19 corruption.

Bishop John K. Yambasu, resident bishop of the United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone and president of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, died suddenly in a road accident on 16 August.

The Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence has been intensified in Namibia, bringing awareness of the heightened risk of violence against women and children during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, World Communion of Reformed Churches and Methodist World Council sent a letter to the churches and people of Zimbabwe expressing solidarity with the nation in its difficult quest for human rights and justice.

Dr Kobus Gerber, the first general secretary of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, passed away in the early hours of 6 August, following heart surgery.

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary, joined the South Sudan Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches in condemning recent violent killings of innocent people in South Sudan, and called to an end to brutality in the country.