Rev. Dr Evans Onyemara, general secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria, attended the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee meeting from 8-14 November in Abuja, Nigeria. He took time to reflect on accomplishments and challenges in his country, and why he’s grateful for the presence of the WCC.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay congratulated Rt. Rev. Chituku-Neshangwe, from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA), the new president of All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).
The All Africa Conference of Churches will convene its Twelfth General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, from 18-23 November under the theme “The Love of Christ Compels us…”
Members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee visited an array of churches in Nigeria on 12 November, bringing a deep spiritual aspect to their gathering, taking place in Abuja from 8-14 November.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) sent a message with prayers and hope to the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. “As you know the WCC is a fellowship of churches that seeks the unity of Christians in the world,” wrote WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.
I received a call from a friend of mine - we both work as medical doctors and had earlier realised that our husbands, who are ministers in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, had been friends for years —this is one of the reasons that drew us to each other. She had been attending the February meeting of the Methodist Women’s Prayer and Service Union (Manyano), Connexional Extended Executive Meeting. My friend said that the general president, Gretta Makhwenkwe, had appointed us to the Wellness Committee.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) conveyed congratulations to His Eminence Ekpenyong Akpanika upon his installation as the prelate and moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca conveyed sincere congratulations to Most Rev. Julius Olayinka Osayand Abbe upon his appointment and enthronement as the Primate of The Africa Church.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended greetings on behalf of the global fellowship to the Christian Council of Nigeria as it held its 31st Triennial Assembly and marked its 93rd anniversary at the Basilica of St Andrew in Enugu, Nigeria from 23-26 November.
Prof. Dr Sarojini Nadar is director of the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, University of Western Cape, South Africa. Below, she reflects on outcomes from the inaugural “Ecumenical Women’s Initiative for Leadership and Learning” held in May.
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 (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed the revulsion of the global fellowship of churches at the murder of Deborah Yakubu, a second-year college student beaten to death and burnt by a group of her fellow students in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.
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.
As churches and other groups battle sexual and gender-based violence, it is urgent to include men in trainings and amplify the issues for global accompaniment and support, church women leaders, lay members and gender advocates recommended at a recent church human rights training in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Many women and girls are still struggling to attain their fundamental human rights, despite churches and the systems of the world affirming the equality of men and women, a church human rights training for young women and girls in Nigeria heard recently.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Ibraheem Garba, co-director of International Centre for Interfaith Peace and Harmony in Nigeria. He died in a car accident in Nigeria as he was travelling for work-related reasons between Kaduna and Abuja.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, one of South Africa's most famous persons, has turned 90 with a Eucharist service celebration at Cape Town's St George's Cathedral, receiving an outpouring of love from around the world. Tutu made a rare public appearance on 7 October at the iconic Cape Town cathedral, the site of prayers and protests during the apartheid era, where he attended a special thanksgiving service.
In the years since it was founded in 2016, the International Centre for Inter-Faith Peace and Harmony in Kaduna, Nigeria has been building a cadre of peacemakers who are witnesses to inter-religious peace and harmony. It also continues to serve as a physical symbol helping Muslims and Christians work together more effectively.
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.