As the journey continues towards the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022, a World Council of Churches consultation is now taking place in Berlin, Germany, to reflect and strategize on the future of the churches’ health ministry.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted an interface conference on 13 October between the WCC, EKD, German Federal Foreign Office, Trans-Atlantic Network and Berlin-based diplomats to discuss the vital role that the WCC, churches and faith communities around the globe play in advancing people’s health and healing, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presentation of Dr Mwai Makoka, the World Council of Churches programme executive for Health and Healing, at the meeting of WCC, EKD, German Federal Foreign Office and TransAtlantic Network, 13 October 2021.
Address of Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches at the meeting of WCC, EKD, German Federal Foreign Office and TransAtlantic Network, 13 October 2021
Religious and traditional leaders in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) participated in online consultations on the SADC Model Law on gender-based violence.
Religious leaders in Tanzania, after attending a workshop on HIV, stigma, treatment adherence and faith healing, released a communique that urges further empowering of religious leaders with skills and information to combat HIV.
Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, has expressed hope that the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to new types of fellowship, where churches can build back better.
The Pacific Theological College has published “A COVID-19 Wellbeing Statement: Rethinking Health from a Theological and Pasifika Cultural Perspective.”
Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu, president of the Methodist Church of Togo, is also chair of the International Reference Group of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme (WCC-EHAIA). Involved with WCC-EHAIA from the beginning, he reflects below on what it’s like to be, as he describes, “one of the veterans of the struggle.”
Faith communities, governments, international organizations, foundations, the private sector, and civil society organizations are essential in every response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, told an interfaith gathering.
The World Council of Churches Vaccine Champions shared their reflections on the status of vaccines in their home contexts, as well as the important role churches are playing in moving toward vaccine equity.
A high-level dialogue on urgent efforts by leading non-governmental organizations to sustain a global, multinational dialogue and cooperation amid the COVID-19 pandemic will take place on 30 August.
On Monday, 30 August, from 17:00 to 18:30 CEST, all media are invited to learn more about urgent efforts by leading NGOs and other organizations to sustain a global, multinational dialogue and cooperation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata is general secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches. Below, he reflects on the negative impacts of a third wave of a COVID-19 in the nation, and what people most need.
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.
Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton is ecumenical officer for the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and presiding bishop of the Fifth Episcopal District. Below, she shares her reflections on the vital role of churches in reducing vaccine hesitancy and increasing vaccine equity.
The Religious Forum Against COVID-19 in South Africa issued a statement with faith leaders standing in solidarity in response to COVID-19, and with a broader objective of collaborating in making for a safer South African environment.