World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, discussing peace initiatives across the globe—and the role of the WCC and South African leaders.
During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.
In a pastoral letter to the churches of South Sudan and to Norwegian Church Aid, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed shock and sadness about the news of an attack on Norwegian Church Aid vehicles in Imehejek, Lopa Lafon, in the Eastern Equatoria region of South Sudan.
South African Council of Churches general secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, released a video message of peace and reassurance as, he notes, more and more voices are reaching out for the word of God.
After receiving a pilgrimage of global religious leaders, the South Sudan Council of Churches released a statement on 10 March echoing the church leaders’ call for nonviolent means to solve the nation’s problems.
Elisama Wani Daniel, from the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, spoke about the prophetic role of the church in helping the people of South Sudan, which he describes as “a country that has gone through many struggles in its history.”
When Rev. Frank Chikane was leading the South African Council of Churches in calling out injustices of the apartheid system, their work did not stop even after the council’s office building was bombed to the ground in 1980s. Moderating the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 2016, Rev. Chikane has been engaged in addressing injustices in many parts of the world. WCC Communication asked Rev. Chikane to look back at his term at the commission and the ongoing calling of churches to address injustices in the world today.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) has facilitated churches’ engagement in a wide range of critical issues of the world since the last WCC Assembly in Busan, concluded the 58th meeting of the WCC CCIA, gathering church representatives in Johannesburg and online in the 75th anniversary year of the Commission’s creation.
The Ecumenical Network on South Sudan (Europe and North America Hub), on the occasion of International Peace Day on 21 September, released a call entitled “High Time for Peace and Accountability in South Sudan.”
On 18 July, prayer services in South Africa will mark Nelson Mandela’s birthday and will also be an opportunity to pray for unity.
The Religious Forum Against COVID-19 has elected to observe the day in both a nationally broadcast prayer service as well as observing 67 minutes of prayer that evening.
The South African Council of Churches, in a 15 July statement, called for supporting a campaign of restoration and addressing the root causes of the unrest that is happening simultaneously with a third wave of COVID-19.
South Sudan came into existence ten years ago this week, but there is little to celebrate for the world's newest nation, Rev. Fr James Oyet Latansio, general secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches.
A 12 July statement from the South African Council of Churches notes with deep concern the violence and destruction of property that is engulfing the nation. “This violence is resulting in untold suffering,” the statement reads.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca welcomed the announcement of the dissolution of parliament in South Sudan, to pave the way for the appointment of lawmakers from formerly warring parties in the country. This is an important step in the long-awaited and repeatedly delayed implementation of the peace accords between president Salva Kiir and vice president Riek Machar. “I pray that there will be no further delays in this process,” said Sauca, “and that the full implementation of the accords will finally ensure peace and good governance for the suffering people of South Sudan.”
During a solidarity visit to South Sudan, a delegation from the All Africa Conference of Churches urged all parties in South Sudan to pursue peace even amid challenges.
South Sudanese Church leaders are appealing for urgent humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of their population, who have been left vulnerable by a mix of five crises, including floods and the COVID-19 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.
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.
The South African Council of Churches is calling on the De Klerk Foundation to retract and apologize in the wake of a 14 February statement issued by the foundation amplifying the position that apartheid was not a crime against humanity, but a Soviet propaganda ploy.
