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WCC statement reiterates call for just peace in Palestine and Israel

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee, in a statement, reiterated its call for a just peace in Israel and Palestine. “That commitment is part of the fabric of our faith, and of the heritage of the ecumenical movement,” reads the statement. "We seek to express it by accompanying the churches, interfaith partners and communities of these lands in their witness and work for justice and for peace.”

WCC expresses concern about Colombia’s peace process in light of recent killings of Micoahumado community leaders

“We express our deepest concern with regard to the search for peace in Colombia, and we call upon the Colombian government and all armed actors to refrain from targeting social leaders and communities in conflict zones”, said Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), in light of the recent killings of social leaders in Micoahumado, South Bolivar, and elsewhere around the country.

WCC general secretary extends greetings to Buddhist Partners on Vesak

As Buddhists across the world prepare to observe the festival of Vesak, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit extended greetings to the WCC’s Buddhist partners. “May you continue to be inspired by the wisdom of Gautama Buddha whose birth, enlightenment and death you commemorate on this festive day,” wrote Tveit.

Workshop in Jamaica focuses on human rights

The World Council of Churches, working with the Jamaica Council of Churches and Caribbean and North America Council for Mission, offered a training in Jamaica to help people cope with violence against children, particularly sexual violence, gang-related violence, and gun violence.

Staunch defenders of free speech counter hate, fear and fake news

Nowadays, any cause can be effectively promoted in a blink of an eye, with a click on a button. At virtually no cost, messages travel fast around the globe through social media and other digital platforms. For good and bad, but mostly for good. Because without it, grassroots movements, such as the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia in 2010 and ended up toppling several governments, would have had a much harder time rallying support and getting their message across to key audiences.

Emergency Assembly on the Crisis of Global Racism

Racism is a curse that continues to haunt the global community, with new forms constantly emerging. This curse brings us to the realisation that no country is free from racism and we cannot afford any attitude of pretence or denial that no further action is needed to focus on racial justice in order to re-establish human dignity and equal human rights on a global scale.

Latest issue of Ecumenical Review focuses on Freedom, Love and Justice

The latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the World Council of Churches, opens with an article by WCC general secretary the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, “Freedom, Love and Justice,” reflecting on the theme for the WCC's 11th Assembly in 2021, “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”

“Human peace chain” reflects the wish of the people on Korean Peninsula

On 27 April, some 500,000 people joined hands to form a “human peace chain” along the 500 km long Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea. They expressed their strong desire for permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula, gathering to celebrate the first anniversary of Panmunjom Declaration and commemorate the centennial of the 1 March Independence Movement.

Peacemakers at work in Sri Lanka

In the wake of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, the Omnia Institute for Contextual Leadership, based in Chicago, lifted up points of hope that peace will win in the end. In a 25 April message, Shanta Premawardhana, president of the institute, wrote that every person of every faith of every nation deserves to wake up in peace. “Every child deserves to feel safe, welcomed, and alive to the promise that each day brings,” Premawardhana wrote. “I'm sure you know that this is why we build Interfaith Peacemaker Teams in Sri Lanka.”

Thursdays in Black: Making a difference one person at a time

“What can one person do” can often sound like a lament about powerlessness.

For Thursdays in Black, though, one person can build a movement.

David Emmanuel Goatley, Faculty Director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke University Divinity School in North Carolina, USA, learned about Thursdays in Black through his involvement with the World Council of Churches’ Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. He has now launched the campaign through the Office at Duke University.

WCC expresses sadness, solidarity after Notre Dame fire

After a large fire broke out on 15 April at the Notre Dame cathedral, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed shock over the damage to one the most famous landmarks in Paris, and the seat of the archbishop of Paris.