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Our series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors highlights those who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Sally Azar is a pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and currently serves as a pastor in Jerusalem for both Arabic and English-speaking congregations. 

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian is vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee.

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Merlyn Hyde Riley is general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union, and vice moderator of the WCC central committee.

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm is moderator of the World Council of Churches.

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay is general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

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.

At the St Andrew’s Presbyterian of Church East Africa in Nairobi, Judy Kihumba is the voice between the hearing and the deaf worlds in one of Kenya’s oldest churches.

Prof. Dr Sarojini Nadar is director of the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, University of Western Cape, South Africa. Below, she reflects on outcomes from the inaugural “Ecumenical Women’s Initiative for Leadership and Learning” held in May. 

Mathilda Johnson is world vice president of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women. She also serves as lay president for the Methodist Church in The Gambia. Below, she reflects on her childhood, her top women’s issues, and her hope for her sisters in Africa.

Right Rev. Dr Emily Onyango, assistant bishop, Anglican Diocese of Bondo, Kenya, was ordained in 1987—the second woman priest ordained in all of east Africa—and appointed as assistant bishop in 2021. She also serves as a lecturer for St Paul’s University. Below, she reflects on her path to becoming a church leader, the resistance she encountered, and her message to young people today.

Our series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors highlights those who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Marcelo D. Leites is general secretary of the World Student Christian Federation.