Churches in South Sudan are appealing for humanitarian assistance, amidst fears that the consequences of climate change, macro-economic shocks, and the war in Sudan could sink the country further into the worst humanitarian crisis since independence.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office Advisory Group convened on 20 February under the leadership of WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.
Within the framework of the negotiations and conversations of the third cycle of the Peace Dialogue Table between the government of Colombia and the Estado Mayor Central FARC-EP, the news was received on its fourth day of sessions that President Petro approved Decree 0016 of 14 January 2024, which it extends the ceasefire with the EMC FARC-EP for six more months.
Women and children in Gaza are bearing the heavy brunt of the ongoing war, according to reports from the United Nations, with close to a million women and girls displaced and 12,882 women and children already perished in a war that has now raged for more than 100 days.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met in Bogota, Colombia, with representatives of embassies of Switzerland, Norway, Germany, and the diplomatic service of the European Union for a conversation on the role of the international community in the peace process in the country.
A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Colombia, conveying a message of the WCC’s commitment to accompanying and supporting the nation’s peace processes.
With a historic show of unity, Ethiopian churches meeting at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey made the decision to establish a council of churches in their country.
In September, the World Council of Churches (WCC), with the Colombian Episcopal Conference, United Nations Mission in Colombia, and Organization of American States, was appointed as a permanent accompanier for peace talks with the Estado Mayor Central FARC-EP in Colombia.
On 28th August, during a visit with Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the UN Office, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with those making efforts to lift the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by reopening the Lachin corridor.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is calling on Azerbaijan for the immediate lifting of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, as more than 120,000 people—including 30,000 children—are suffering under an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.
In Renk, a small South Sudanese town on the banks of the White Nile, churches are working to help thousands of people fleeing the war in the neighbouring Sudan.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared joyful congratulations with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who was installed as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, and urged an end to hostilities.
The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) has published a “2023 Easter Prayer for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula”, an annual observance which carries special significance this year, 70 years after the Korean War ceasefire established by the 1953 Armistice Agreement.
In an Easter message, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem conveyed greetings to faithful Christians around the world, both far and near.
During a Global Peace Prayer on 22 March, Christians across the world drew together to pray for peace in a broken world, and to listen to voices from people suffering in Ukraine and other conflict-ridden areas.
A Global Peace Prayer on 22 March will draw Christians together in hope for a better future. A communique from a prayer planning committee explained that Christians are called into prayer and advocacy for peace. “In a global context where war and violence abound, the practice of peace has become even more urgent,” reads the message.
Below, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Public Witness and Diakonia, reflects on the relevance of ecumenical diakonia and public witness today.
Sanctions should not harm the support for the most vulnerable, says a report on the impact of sanctions on humanitarian work presented at a side-event of 52nd session at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva on 10 March.