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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is bringing prayers and expertise to the 23rd session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, which is running in New York from 15-26 April. 

Grief and anger in Canada and across the world have followed the news that the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School in the western Canadian province of British Columbia.

A World Council of Churches Pilgrim Team will be visiting indigenous communities on Standing Rock, particularly along the shore of the Missouri River (Lake Oahe), with portions of visits open to the public online on 25-28 May.

In a historic vote, the general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada bestowed the title of archbishop upon Mark MacDonald, president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) for North America.

Before the synod, MacDonald was bishop of the National Indigenous Anglican Church of Canada.

As a result of a consultation on 9-10 November in Washington, D.C., Pan African Women of Faith have released a Call to Action toward a vision of sustainable communities and an end to hunger and poverty.

"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."

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.

“What do we have the right to manipulate in creation?” The question is at the heart of a Canadian Quaker’s commitment to the process of encouraging member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to reflect on scientific experiments in modifying life forms known as “synthetic biology”.

Promoting responsible agricultural investments was the theme of a session organised by the WCC at the Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings held in Washington DC from 9-13 October. “There is no doubt we need to invest more in agriculture – it feeds us all and remains an important source of employment, especially for the world’s poor,” said Athena Peralta, WCC programme executive for economic and ecological justice.

Friday evening when the leaders of the G20 states will be meeting in Hamburg and discussing global economic, social, environmental and political issues, the churches in Germany are inviting people in Germany and all over the world to a common peace prayer.

Not nearly enough is being done to save the lives of the 20 million people who face famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria. Among them are 1.4 million children, who are at imminent risk of death unless aid reaches them immediately.

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.

Many voices have joined the chorus demanding respect for indigenous peoples’ rights and eco-justice in connection with Standing Rock, a location at the heart of the struggle against the proposed path of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North Dakota, USA.

Encouragement, inspiration and storytelling animated the plenary discussion of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

Experiences of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people around the world will be front and centre at an upcoming international conference in Trondheim, Norway. The Sami Church Council of the Church of Norway and the WCC are the chief organizers behind the conference, “Reconciliation Processes and Indigenous Peoples: Truth, Healing and Transformation,” which will take place from 20-21 June. Coinciding with the National Aboriginal Day of Prayer in Canada, the conference will be held in connection with the WCC Central Committee meeting also taking place in Trondheim from 22-28 June.

Canadian church leaders issued a joint statement endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and promising to implement its principles. Doreen Spence, an aboriginal Canadian who was one of the architects of the declaration, welcomes the move.

What do Indigenous peoples expect of churches in light of the report of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on church-run residential schools for aboriginal children?

What do indigenous peoples expect of churches in light of the report of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on church-run residential schools for aboriginal children? Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, responds.