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2024 Joint North-South Korea Easter Prayer

It has been 28 years since the two Koreas began the Easter joint prayer together. It is a prayer that started with glory to God who gave him the strength to work for unification. I hope that unification alone will fulfill its last duty.

An Easter prayer – by Mgr William Shomali

Let swords be turned into ploughshares, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, starvation to prosperity, occupation to liberation, and peace and justice could be experienced by all.

Looking for light at the end of the tunnel

My experience with Israel’s Interior Ministry began more than 25 years ago, whereby I have been seeking an ID card for my wife who hails from the West Bank. I am a Palestinian from East Jerusalem and I have an Israeli ID card—which gives me the status of a foreign resident in the city of my ancestors and where I was born. 

Give me my life, let me live

Christine, 23, is from the West Bank. She met a young man from Jerusalem when she was studying at one of the Palestinian universities in the West Bank. As their emotions towards each other grew by time and a sincere love flourished into their hearts, they decided to get engaged. At this point, they didn’t think of any barriers that might stand in front of them. 

Ecumenical delegation visits Armenia

As the humanitarian crisis continues to escalate in the blockaded enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation visited Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Prayer for Ukraine by bishop Rosemarie Wenner

Prayer for Ukraine by bishop Rosemarie Wenner during the ecumenical morning prayer held on 15 May 2023, when the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace.

 

Week of Prayer for Overcoming Racism and Xenophobia March 19 - 25, 2023

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is sharing materials for a Week of Prayer for Overcoming Racism and Xenophobia” in the week that includes the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March and the UN International Day for the Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on 25 March.

August 15th Joint South-North (North-South) Prayer for Peace & Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula 2022

The World Council of Churches invites the global fellowship and all people of good will to join, on 15 August 2022, a prayer for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.

Composed by the National Council of Churches in Korea, the prayer will be held on 14 August—the Sunday before Liberation Day, observed in both North and South Korea to mark the date in 1945 when Korea won independence from Japanese colonial oppression. The date was also when the peninsula was divided into two countries.

On the ambiguities of border and our quest for unity today

In the world today, border is far from a neutral or natural notion. Depending on the context of interpretation, it evokes different thoughts and emotions. For some, it may recall an expensive wall of xenophobia. For others, it could mean a gateway to safety and refuge, or the relentless defense against hostile aggressors. As we ponder the theme “Christ’s love (re)moves borders,” we shall begin by asking: What are borders? At a time when world powers are trying to change borders by force, what does it mean for Christ’s love to (re)move borders? And, ultimately, how do we discern between ideological pacifism and true unity?

Borders and Migrants

On 20 May 2022, a group of us, 14 pilgrims from different parts of the world (Kenya, Brussels, Germany, Hong Kong, Philippines, Poland, Rome, Korea, Canada, Fiji, Australia, London, Scotland, and Geneva—a very diverse group) gathered in Palermo, Italy for a Pilgrim Team Visit on the theme of migration.