The Global Christian Forum, with its fourth global gathering underway in Ghana, is marking its 25thanniversary at a time when the world is in dire need of justice, reconciliation, and unity.
Amidst deaths and displacement, church leaders in eastern Africa are re-stressing a warning against floods, while appealing for support for communities displaced by the climate change disaster.
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.
TheMiddle East Council of Churchesannounced that the 22 April each year—the day of the kidnapping of the two Archbishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Boulos Yaziji and Metropolitan Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim— will be named “The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented.”
Amid a warning that a famine is “at the doorstep” in eastern Africa, church leaders are re-stressing urgent action to save millions of people caught in a drought described as the worst in 40 years.
A new “Local Changemakers Course” is being released by the Freedom of Religion or Belief Learning Platform to help empower local communities in their fight for human rights, particularly freedom of religion or belief.
Churches in South Africa are actively responding to the flood disaster in KwaZulu Natal, in which at least 440 people have died. The floods—the strongest to hit the province in recent times—were triggered following a week of heavy rainfall in the province bordering the Indian Ocean in the east of the country.
A webinar on science and religion showed that shifting away from the mainly curative health architecture could help church and church health institutions keep the crucial lessons learned from coronavirus pandemic mitigation.
On 20 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca will serve as a panelist for “Ecumenism in a Time of Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunity.”
On 20 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca will serve as a panelist for “Ecumenism in a Time of Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunity.”
A special COP26 service involving Christian churches and organisations from around the world will be held at Glasgow Cathedral on Sunday afternoon. (7 November). The event, which has been organised by Glasgow Churches Together, will be attended by guests from countries including Australia, Fiji, and Zimbabwe, as a show of solidarity for global climate justice.
Over 23-29 October, a Global Conference of Africa and Africans in the Diaspora (AAD) revisited the historical 1945 Manchester Pan-African Conference and critically reviewed progress made since then. Speakers and participants also worked to determine and develop effective global strategies to radically change the lot of Africans and people of African descent globally—and thereby defeat the scourge of racism in the world.
Bishop Johan Tyrberg and a delegation from the Church of Sweden in Lund visited the World Council of Churches on 22-23 September, participating in a morning prayer for Christian unity, receiving a guided tour and discussing the theme of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”
During an ecumenical service in Aachen Cathedral, on 28 August, Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in Germany as well as the churches affiliated to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen (Working Group of Christian Churches)will jointly remember and honor the victims of the floodsthat severely hit the region.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed concern and extended prayers for those who continue to be affected by severe monsoon-related flooding and landslides in India. More than 150 people have perished in western India, and there is extensive damage.
On 20 July, faith communities from 70 different groups across the world gathered online and in-person in Washington, DC to express solidarity for the billions of people without access to COVID-19 vaccines.
In a letter of solidarity to churches and all people throughout Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, the moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee Dr Agnes Abuom and WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended condolences and concern for those who lost loved ones during the severe flooding that struck the region in mid-July.
The Christian Conference of Asia is organizing a two-week Institute on Human Rights, which began 17 May, offering participants from Asian countries an opportunity to explore the theme “Being Defenders of Human Rights and Human Dignity.”
Extraordinary efforts to develop vaccines against COVID-19 and roll out mass vaccination programmes provide hope to millions of people around the globe. Throughout the pandemic, public health organizations have collaborated closely with non-government- and faith-based organizations. That has made a difference, both in getting factual information about vaccines across to the public, and in encouraging people to act in solidarity by getting vaccinated.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting the global fellowship to share online prayers, tweets, photos and other forms of social media under the hashtag #COVID19prayers for an upcoming special week of prayer from 22-27 March.
