Search results

Church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark signed a statement demanding that we take “human responsibility” for refugees on the border between Turkey and Greece.

Retired Bishop Gunnar Stålsett was convicted by an Oslo court as on 19 December, for having offered work and income to a rejected refugee who couldn’t be sent back to Eritrea. That became illegal in 2011, but Stålsett described himself as a conscientious objector to a law he views as simply wrong. Bishop Stålsett’s case attracted more media coverage in Norway and worldwide, after he was convicted of violating immigration law.

An 84-year-old former bishop of Oslo, Gunnar Stålsett, was ordered to appear in court because he illegally employed a woman from Eritrea who’d been denied asylum and wound up as an undocumented and rejected refugee.

At a global conference on xenophobia in Rome, a panel of four religious leaders from, respectively, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic traditions, spoke candidly about how xenophobia can sometimes be woven deeply into the fabric of these traditions.

It’s 70 years since the World Council of Churches was founded in Amsterdam on 23 August. In addition to a commemoration service in Amsterdam on 23 August, the WCC, its member churches and partners are planning a variety of events to move forward on our ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, and at the same time honour and learn from these 70 years of ecumenical endeavour. Dr Abuom, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, is the moderator of the WCC Central Committee. She is the first woman and the first African in the position in WCC’s history. In an interview, she reflects on the evolution of the WCC in the past 70 years.

After six intensive days, offering plenty of food for thought, the Asia Mission Conference (AMC) in Yangon, Myanmar, came to an end with a sending out and closing session last Monday. With around 600 participants from all over the world – double from what was originally expected – the need to discuss, learn about and elaborate around mission was clearly affirmed.

The fourth Asia Mission Conference began yesterday in Yangon, Myanmar.

More than 500 participants from all over the world gathered this morning for the opening of the Asia Mission Conference in Yangon, Myanmar. The conference, the fourth of its kind since the founding of the Christian Conference of Asia in 1957, marks an important opportunity to bring together churches, faith-based organizations and partners to reflect upon mission in an Asian context. The conference is organized by CCA and hosted by the the Myanmar Council of Churches and Myanmar Baptist Convention, both CCA members.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) on 14 September expressed its concern over the worsening situation of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

Hope in a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace formed the integral thread for proceedings at the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Trondheim, Norway this week. The 2016 meeting took place 22-28 June, the second gathering since the Central Committee was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013.

Stories of women in church leadership are vital to forming a new generation of female pan-African leaders, say speakers at World Council of Churches event.

The worsening refugee situation, which now counts round 65 million people among those fleeing their homes worldwide, calls for the church to be more outspoken, says Trondheim pastor Marianne H. Brekken.

Encouragement, inspiration and storytelling animated the plenary discussion of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

Journeying from urban centres and small Pacific islands, mountain ranges and rural towns, more than 170 Indigenous people gathered this week at the mouth of the river that flows from traditional Sami lands. Their conference, “Reconciliation Processes and Indigenous Peoples: Truth, Healing and Transformation,” brought together representatives of more than two dozen Indigenous societies in connection with the WCC Central Committee meetings in Trondheim, Norway.

Knut Refsdal started his pilgrimage from the Norwegian capital Oslo to the historic pilgrim town of Trondheim on 24 May. He is scheduled to arrive on the eve of the opening of the meeting of the WCC Central Committee on 21 June.

Experiences of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people around the world will be front and centre at an upcoming international conference in Trondheim, Norway. The Sami Church Council of the Church of Norway and the WCC are the chief organizers behind the conference, “Reconciliation Processes and Indigenous Peoples: Truth, Healing and Transformation,” which will take place from 20-21 June. Coinciding with the National Aboriginal Day of Prayer in Canada, the conference will be held in connection with the WCC Central Committee meeting also taking place in Trondheim from 22-28 June.

The WCC will convene a conference on the theme “Reconciliation Processes in Indigenous Contexts” in Trondheim, Norway, on 20-21 June.

The World Council of Churches announced its support of a joint appeal for humanitarian access in Syria initiated by the Norwegian Refugee Council and UNICEF, and signed by dozens of humanitarian agencies worldwide.

“The way we handle the refugee crisis, not least the settling in and integration process, will be of utmost significance, both for the attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers in the future, and for the long-term stability and sustainability of our own societies”, said Knut Vollebaek, ambassador and former Norwegian foreign minister, in his speech at the recent WCC/UN conference on Europe’s refugee crisis.