In 2005, for the second year running, churches representing over 560 million Christians world-wide are being invited to mark the UN International Day of Peace, 21 September, as an International Day of Prayer for Peace.
Baldwin Sjollema, first director of the World Council of Churchesâ (WCC) Programme to Combat Racism (PCR), received the Oliver Tambo Order from South African president Thabo Mbeki on 16 June 2004 in Pretoria.
"The power and promise of peace" is the compelling theme for activities to be carried out this year within the framework of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) 2004 focus on the USA. A Monday 12 January worship service will mark the opening of a year dedicated to strengthening and resourcing churches and movements working for peace in the USA.
The vision at the heart of the ecumenical movement and the challenges it faces at the beginning of the 21st century in Africa were highlighted by both the outgoing and incoming general secretaries of the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the 8th Assembly of the All Africa Conferences of Churches (AACC) in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 24 November.