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Churches in South Sudan shared Easter messages of hope, even amid troubling times for the African nation.The South Sudan Council of Churches, in its message, emphasized renewed hope. “In today’s world, marked by so many conflicts and so much suffering, we understand that many of us feel disheartened,” reads the message.

As its 12th General Assembly in Kanaky (New Caledonia) concluded, the Pacific Conference of Churches, in an outcome statement, expressed a vision for leading change through transformation. 

As Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo, then with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, and Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, to South Sudan on 3- 5 February, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay said he welcomes and supports the visits.

After postponing their unique ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to South Sudan, world Christian leaders will travel to the world’s youngest nation in February.

At an online roundtable hosted by the All Africa Conference of Churches, male “champions for gender justice” shared their ideas and insights during their yearlong service as men who are helping to prevent gender-based violence.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended prayers and condolences to people in Tonga, and the churches and rescue workers helping them, in the wake of a massive volcanic eruption smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications.

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.”

Christian educators and other church leaders in Togo are eagerly turning the pages of a new resource for children, a curriculum entitled “Because God Loves Me—Affirming My Value in Christ,” published by the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The South Sudan Council of Churches is inviting churches to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, observed globally on 19 June. The council published a series of messages available for use in worship services over the weekend.

Damaris, a Nigerian woman, described her experience of 2020: “We’ve gone through hell.”

Damaris and her sisters were kidnapped in March 2020 and threatened with death as their kidnappers demanded money. Her father had to sell everything and beg on the streets to meet their demands. “We are just a common people in Nigeria,” she said. “We don’t know what we did.”

A webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 26 November will explore “Conflict Zones and Covid-19: A call to compassion.” Speakers from Cameroon, Nigeria, South Sudan, Lebanon, Belarus and Colombia will offer their insights on how conflict exacerbates the conditions for contracting and treating COVID-19 among civilians caught in the crossfire, especially women.

The Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee, based in Papua New Guinea, continues to advocate against sexual violence, and has been lighting a special “lamp of justice and peace” as part of the Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence.

Thursdays in Black grew out of women’s movements of resilience and resistance to injustice, abuse and violence. In the Pacific region, which has some of the highest recorded rates of violence against women, churches are leading conversations to change attitudes and actions. Domestic violence is prevalent throughout Fiji. According to UN Women’s Global Database on Violence against Women, almost 2 out of 3 women aged 18-64 in Fiji have experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partner – almost twice the global average.

As the people of Maohi (French Polynesia) are remembering the seventh year of their re- inscription on the United Nations decolonisation list, the Pacific Conference of Churches, in a 19 June statement, called on France to act with justice.