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WCC extends prayers for lasting peace in Haiti

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay sent a pastoral letter to Haitian brothers and sisters whose lives are lived in a land with hatred, violence, and suffering. Although we might be physically distant, we are close to you in heart, in the spiritual sense,” wrote Pillay. We all are children of God. We belong to one family, as Jesus Christ himself said.”

WCC general secretary met with Cuban president

In a visit to Cuba from 17-19 December, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel at the Palacio de las Convenciones in Havana. I was deeply impressed with our heart-to-heart meeting with the president of Cuba,” expressed Pillay.

In Argentina, “Serving a Wounded World” is a hopeful call to collaborate

Prof. Dr h.c. Humberto Martin Shikiya, vice president of the Regional Ecumenical Advisory and Service Center (CREAS) In Argentina, reflects on how Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond” is being received as a hopeful call to collaborate ecumenically and interreligiously. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue jointly published Serving a Wounded World” to encourage churches and Christian organizations to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Week of Prayer brings fruits of the Spirit despite COVID-19

Prayer is a powerful way to be united as Christians from all over the world. Every year my church community in Cuba joins the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with daily devotions and a special worship service, usually on Sundays. Being connected in the same prayerful spirit around a common text that turns into so many testimonies of faith is truly a gift of the Spirit and an ecumenical commitment.

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.

WCC mourns sudden passing of Rev. Fabian Kreischer from Argentina

In a letter sent on 11 February, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary, sent condolences to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church for the passing of Rev. Fabián Kreischer on 7 February, in San Miguel, outside Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Diakonia: “a tool to reach abundance of life”

“Christ’s call for abundant life (John 10:10) means that the church must work to address the enormity of challenges, including access to water resources, care for creation, and adequate health care,” said Rev. Matthew Ross during a World Council of Churches (WCC) seminar on young people’s involvement in “Ecumenical Diakonia and Sustainable Development,” held in Matanzas, Cuba, July 15-20.

WCC supports demands for release of Argentinean indigenous activist Milagro Sala

“WCC notes the concern expressed by Movimiento Ecuménico por los Derechos Humanos (MEDH) and many other civil society organizations in Argentina that Milagro Sala, a prominent political activist, social and indigenous leader, is being arbitrarily detained because of her activism, though other charges are laid against her”, wrote Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in a letter on 16 December, to the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina (IEMA), in support of MEDH in its claim regarding Sala.