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On 20 April, an ecumenical delegation led by World Council of Churches president from Africa His Holiness Most Rev. Dr Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Worldwide, met with Sudan president General Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan. 

As climate change induced floods terrorize communities in East Africa, clerics and officials here fear that nature was hitting back.

Floods have struck Kenya and Tanzania, leaving behind a trail of death, destruction, and displacement. Floods are most intense in some of the same areas previously struck by a lengthy drought described by the UN as the worst in four decades.

At the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of St Anargyroi Church in Nairobi, Christians joined for ecumenical services to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the annual event celebrated from 18-25 January.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the loss and celebrating the life of Rev. Dr Jose Belo Chipenda, an African theologian and ecumenical leader.

Chipenda passed away on 10 January in Canada at the age of 95. 

From 4 to 9 December 2023, thousands of people convened in Harare, Zimbabwe, for the 22nd International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Scientists, medical experts, advocates, people living with HIV, and civil society organizations came together under the theme “AIDS IS NOT OVER: Address inequalities; accelerate inclusion and innovation.” Participants from many faith traditions were a meaningful part of many of these representative groups but also took up a space of their own.

As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism on Gender Based Violence, religious leaders, human rights activists, and development partners in Tanzania joined on 5 December to discuss the human rights of girls and women, including those with disabilities, in a forum titled “Wealth of Knowledge and a Wealth of Care.”

Church leaders are participating in a “Consultation on Ecumenical Approaches to Peace and Stability in West Africa” from 5-8 December in Togo. The gathering is being organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the Methodist Church of Togo and the All Africa Conference of Churches Regional Office in Lomé.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay delivered a public lecture, “A Christian Voice in a World of Conflict,” at the University of South Africa on 27 November. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay congratulated Rt. Rev. Chituku-Neshangwe, from the
Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA), the new president of All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). 

In a press conference on 14 November in Abuja, Nigeria, the World Council of Churches (WCC) leadership of the central committee highlighted the WCC’s focus on some of the world’s most serious challenges, and how the WCC brings hope. 

The All Africa Conference of Churches will convene its Twelfth General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, from 18-23 November under the theme “The Love of Christ Compels us…”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee closed its meeting on 14 November after a weeklong gathering in Nigeria, hosted by member churches and joyously welcomed by local communities. 

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee met in Abuja, Nigeria, on 8-14 November, the governing body published a statement that included deep appreciation of Nigeria’s “astonishing diversity of cultures, languages, and religions”—as well as appeals to the Nigerian government to address economic injustice and other grave challenges facing the nation.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee opened its meeting on 8 November with the opening celebrations in the Cathedral Church of the Advent, with prayers, goodwill messages, and a sermon by WCC president from Africa His Holiness Most Rev. Dr Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Worldwide. 

After fighting battles against severe droughts, Kenyan churches are preparing their communities for extreme rainfall, as weather experts warn of a possible El-Nino phenomenon from October-December.