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Conversation in a sign lanuage

Churches in Africa agree on guidelines for disability inclusion

“I have cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegia, meaning all of my limbs are severely affected by my cerebral. However, I am not defined by my cerebral palsy. There's much more to me than my cerebral palsy,” Julius Van Der Wat, a member of the Dutch Reformed Church in Pretoria, South Africa, told a recent churches’ disability conference in South Africa.

19 December 2023

Woman in a wheelchair in a classroom

Caribbean church workers, activists train on UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

In the Caribbean, there is an increased sense that persons with disabilities have rights and the church is strengthening the view that all are created in the image of God, said a Jamaican cleric and academic who campaigns for disability rights.

18 December 2023

Meeting with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa

WCC general secretary meets with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss local and global peace

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.

10 August 2023

Barbados Gospelfest 2023, Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network Rev. Dr Gordon Cowans offering a public lecture on 22 May

In Barbados, public lecture explores “Touching Lives of Persons With Disability: Freed to Simply Be”

As part of the Barbados Gospelfest, Caribbean co-coordinator of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network Rev. Dr Gordon Cowans offered a public lecture on 22 May, exploring the theme “Touching Lives of Persons With Disability: Freed to Simply Be.”

01 June 2023

protrait photo of Rev. Dr Mikie Roberts, WCC programme executive for Spiritual Life

Barbados Gospelfest will express churches’ affirmation and celebration of persons with disabilities

The upcoming Barbados Gospelfest, set for 21-28 May, will express churches’ affirmation and celebration of persons with disabilities in musical and other creative ways.

17 May 2023

In prayer, WCC observes UN International Day for Living Together in Peace

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.

15 May 2023

South African Council of Churches shares video message of peace and reassurance

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.

21 March 2023

Sarah Newland Martin

WCC celebrates life of Sarah Newland Martin, courageous change-maker

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Sarah Newland Martin, known for her lifetime of advocacy for persons with disabilities, for her leadership with the YMCA and Jamaica Baptist Union, and her ecumenical bridge-building.

12 June 2022

African man wearing a black medical face mask stands in front of a poster at a museum.

Rev. Frank Chikane: “You can’t do unity at the expense of justice”

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.

13 January 2022

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

World mourns loss of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Today the world joins in mourning the passing of a towering figure in the struggle for freedom and for human dignity and rights.

30 December 2021

View over Johannesburg, South Africa, with jacarandas blooming.

Engagement in international affairs has enabled churches to take a firm stand against injustices

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.

15 November 2021

Members of the Church of God, Haiti

WCC expresses prayerful solidarity with churches in Haiti

The World Council of Churches reached out to churches in Haiti in a letter to express solidarity and prayerful concern in the wake of the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse, and amid ongoing waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

30 July 2021

hands together praying

Prayer services for South Africa will call for unity, mark Nelson Mandela’s birthday

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.

16 July 2021

South Africa flag in red

South African Council of Churches calls for restoration, healing in wake of unrest

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.

15 July 2021

Praying in the church

South African Council of Churches appeals for calm in the midst of looting

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.

13 July 2021

empty church benches

The COVID-19 pandemic and community life: reflections and challenges

The Greek word Koinonia, which Paul especially uses in the New Testament, translates as community, communion, union, fellowship, participation, among other meanings. The term "solidarity" expresses the meaning of Koinonia. The community based on solidarity seeks peace, justice, well-being, the Shalom of the people. The word "coexistence" can also be equivalent of Koinonia, because it means to live in unity for several generations under the same roof or house. The "coexistence" leads us to take care of the integrity of creation, to recognize that we are not the only inhabitants of this house.

23 March 2021

Dianet de la C. Martínez Valdés

Webinar thumbnail

In a COVID-stricken world, “everyone is important”

A webinar held 22 October gave space for persons with disabilities to share their reflections. Entitled “From Lamentation to Transformation,” the event, first in a series of webinars on COVID-19 perspectives, highlighted hope through stories, practical support, and social change as experienced by persons with disabilities.

23 October 2020

Photo: WCC

Dr Jurjen A. Zeilstra: Visser 't Hooft’s life “a fascinating adventure”

Dr Jurjen Zeilstra is a historian and theologian. His biography “Visser 't Hooft, 1900-1985 Living for the Unity of the Church” served as a dissertation in the humanities at the Amsterdam Free University in order to receive the degree of Ph.D. in 2018. Willem Visser 't Hooft led the World Council of Churches (WCC) during its formative stages. Below, Dr Zeilstra reflects on what it was like to study the life of Visser 't Hooft.

14 May 2020

Photo: Peter Kenny/WCC

South African Council of Churches calls on De Klerk Foundation to retract statement about apartheid

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.

17 February 2020

Photo: WCC/SACC

WCC delegation meets with South African President Ramaphosa

On 9 December, a delegation led by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met with the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and cabinet ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

09 December 2019