As cases of femicide rise, religious leaders in Kenya are calling for the protection of women, as they unite to condemn the incidents now sending shockwaves across the East African nation.
Six African Anglican female bishops—fondly known as the “Africa Six”—gathered at St Paul’s University in Nairobi, Kenya on 11 January to share their ideas and inspirations about “Christian Leadership for the 21st Century.”
At a 120-year-old Anglican cathedral in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, a visit by King Charles III, king of the United Kingdom and 14 other commonwealth realms, provided an opportunity for religious leaders to discuss interfaith dialogue, and peace, security, and development.
A woman who works with youth in Kenya—young people who once turned to heinous crimes—had a group of young Christians, Jews, and Muslims weeping tears of compassion and joy as she recounted her tough upbringing and how she helps turn those youth from crime to community.
The National Jewish-Christian Dialogue, co-sponsored by the National Council of Churches (USA) and the National Council of Synagogues, met 19-20 April in New York City. The dialogue continued its in-depth discussion of reparations and national healing, following previous remote sessions on the broad topic of reparations and specific efforts to consider reparations by the cities of Evanston, Illinois, and Providence, Rhode Island.
During the debate on human rights and obstetric fistula at the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, the World Council of Churches (WCC) with its ecumenical partners called upon governments to pay more attention to the prevention of obstetric fistula in their policies, strategic plans, and budgets.
At the St Andrew’s Presbyterian of Church East Africa in Nairobi, Judy Kihumba is the voice between the hearing and the deaf worlds in one of Kenya’s oldest churches.
Shamsa Abubakar Fadhil, a recipient of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, is a household name in peace building and community mobilisation in the Kenyan coastal region.
The Interfaith Alliance, based in the USA, has published a new report, ““Big Tech, Hate, and Religious Freedom Online,” that works to educate people about the uniquely damaging impact of bigotry and hate.
As a crowd of more than 300 gathered, the St Paul’s University School of Theology officially launched Thursdays in Black, pledging to build an Africa without violence and to join together on a pilgrimage of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
Every Monday, staff and students at the Joshua and Timothy School of Theology, St Paul’s University, in Limuru Kenya hold their weekly fellowship during which they hold prayers, Bible study, and theological debates, and sometimes celebrate holy communion together.
Walk around the streets of New York City and you may notice that there is one dominant color on the fashion palette: black. In this place, one of the world’s fashion capitals, residents want to show they are edgy, hip, and trendy.
An interfaith breakfast held in conjunction with the 77th session of the UN General Assembly brought into focus the urgent need for policymakers to better address key gaps to end inequalities in HIV services for children.
Right Rev. Dr Emily Onyango, assistant bishop, Anglican Diocese of Bondo, Kenya, was ordained in 1987—the second woman priest ordained in all of east Africa—and appointed as assistant bishop in 2021. She also serves as a lecturer for St Paul’s University. Below, she reflects on her path to becoming a church leader, the resistance she encountered, and her message to young people today.
In drought-stricken regions in eastern Africa, churches and church congregations continue to pray for rain, as the weather conditions leave millions of people without food, water and pasture for their animals.
Two World Council of Churches (WCC) HIV initiatives met to review and celebrate the critical and life-changing work of the initiatives and to continue planning for a strengthened WCC HIV response in the new WCC Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing.
Women of faith who are African or of African descent held a powerful recent gathering, “Ubuntu: Remembrance, Diversity, and Advocacy in Unity Now!” in which they shared their call to action with a sense of Sankofa, or a season of now while looking back and forward. The event was organized by the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) and Pan African Women of Faith (PAW).
A symposium exploring the complex question of misleading theologies in Africa ended here on 24 November, amid concerns that the phenomenon was harming the efforts to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and other diseases.
Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, has expressed hope that the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to new types of fellowship, where churches can build back better.
On 20 July, faith communities from 70 different groups across the world gathered online and in-person in Washington, DC to express solidarity for the billions of people without access to COVID-19 vaccines.