“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.
Following three years of severe drought, in 2018 the City of Cape Town faced an unprecedented water crisis, known as “Day Zero.” Severe water restrictions were introduced to avoid Day Zero, the day in which the city would run out of water.
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.
Prof. Jace Pillay, South African research chair for Education and Care in Childhood at the University of Johannesburg, reflected on the importance of churches in ensuring the rights of children.
Twin brother of World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, Jace Pillay noted that South Africa has very good policies with regard to children’s rights —but in many areas those policies exist only on paper, as they are not implemented.
As Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay was installed as the ninth general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), he reflected on how much the day means to him, and he sought prayers from the worldwide fellowship and from all people of good will as he continues his work.
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.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee elected Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as the ninth general secretary at its 17 June meeting. Below, Pillay reflects on his longstanding passion for ecumenism and his expectations for the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.
The general secretary-elect of the World Council of Churches (WCC) believes that growing up during a period of conflict and suffering in South Africa will stand him in good stead when he takes up his position as the head of the ecumenical body in January as a leader who believes in dialogue.
A gathering of church leaders in Africa held via videoconference on 11February as part of the ongoing World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting has expressed hope for healing, reconciliation and unity amidst several challenges facing the continent.
A Zoom panel on 30 January 2022 recalled the witness of Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) and to celebrate the publication of a new book, Ecumenical Encounters with Desmond Mpilo Tutu, honouring his life and work and presented to him on his 90th birthday.
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.
While Nelson Mandela, the "beloved Madiba,” was the father of South African democracy, Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu was the "spiritual father" of "our new nation,” the president of South Africa said in the main eulogy at a State funeral for the Nobel Peace laureate.
As many communities worldwide battle to get food to the table, a World Council of Churches (WCC) webinar titled ‘Racism, Land and Food' highlighted the intersections of food, land, and racial injustices on food sovereignty over generations of dispossessed groups.
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.