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During a visit to Angola held 21-28 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff met with local church and community leaders to discuss how preventing obstetric fistula is a matter of human rights.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the loss and celebrating the life of Rev. Dr Jose Belo Chipenda, an African theologian and ecumenical leader.

Chipenda passed away on 10 January in Canada at the age of 95. 

Church leaders in Rwanda are mourning the death of 130 people after massive floods struck several districts in the tiny East African country.

The World Council of Churches, in a public statement, is urging the government of the United Kingdom to reconsider the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.

Anglican bishops across the world have signed a petition calling for an immediate halt to oil drilling in the Kavango Basin, Namibia, by Canadian Company ReConAfrica.

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World. She also serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She recently participated in a rally and march in Washington, DC, where thousands gathered to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream" speech.

The Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence has been intensified in Namibia, bringing awareness of the heightened risk of violence against women and children during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Young African clergy, theologians and laypersons are eager to engage with the challenging issues facing their continent and the world. This became clear in a recent essay competition for authors below 35 years by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).

A statement from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee commemorated the quad-centennial of the forced transatlantic voyage of enslaved African peoples from Angola to Jamestown, Virginia (USA).

The WCC is absorbing valuable input from communities in Rwanda that will help hone training aimed at changing attitudes toward antiretroviral medication for people living with HIV.

As a result of a consultation on 9-10 November in Washington, D.C., Pan African Women of Faith have released a Call to Action toward a vision of sustainable communities and an end to hunger and poverty.

In a plenary presentation given at the 11th All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, on 5 July, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Isabel Apawo Phiri offered “An Overview on the Imperative of Diakonia for the Church.”

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke on “The Oneness of the Ecumenical Movement” at the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) 11th General Assembly, being held in Kigali, Rwanda from 1-7 July.

In 2018 we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches. In order to create a lively firsthand account of the ecumenical fellowship and of our shared journey, member churches have contributed stories of people, events, achievements and even failures, all of which have deepened our collective search for Christian unity. This story was written by Olle Eriksson, a Namibian who worked for 35 years (1968 – 2003) with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission and Lutheran World Federation.

Gathered in Kigali, Rwanda on 25-29 September, religious leaders from a variety of faith communities in French-speaking Africa have explored the issue of ”faith-healing only” practices, where some faith communities encourage people living with HIV to stop taking their anti-retroviral medication, claiming they can be healed by faith alone – a rationale devastating for work to overcome HIV and AIDS.

At the first-ever World Health Organization Africa Health Forum in Kigali, Rwanda on 27–28 June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its partners submitted a message urging the forum not to overlook the vital role of the church in the arena of healthcare in Africa.

As the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gathered for its 12th Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia from 10-16 May, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit presented greetings on behalf of the World Council of Churches, a worldwide fellowship of 348 member churches which represents more than half a billion Christians around the world.

The first ever WCC Eco-School on Water, Food and Climate Justice will be held 24 July to 3 August, hosted by the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Blantyre Synod. Applications are now open with a deadline of 11 June (deadline extended).

Almost 800 participants, including 324 delegates, are gathering in Windhoek from 10-16 May for the Twelfth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the highest LWF decision-making body that meets every six years. World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit will address the plenary on 12 May.