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The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network and its partner organizations hosted a hybrid side event, “Faith Community is a ‘Blue Community,” on 22 March in conjunction with the UN Water Conference in New York City.Prof. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur, human right to water, opened the event with a video message on how this is the first time in almost 50 years that the United Nations has convened a global event to reflect on the global water crisis—a crisis that finds 2 billion people without access to clean water, and 4 billion without access to adequate sanitation.

In a historic joint pastoral statement released on 26 March, the World Council of Churches and Regional Ecumenical Organizations affirmed the urgency of standing together to protect life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

A prayer for today by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary World Council of Churches

Auch wenn sie ihren Beruf und ihren Job liebt, wäre Bischöfin Sofie Petersen manchmal wirklich lieber anderswo als in ihrem kleinen gemütlichen Bischofsbüro in Nuuk (Grönland). Am liebsten wäre sie dann draußen in der Natur, würde gerne die frische arktische Luft einatmen und die bezaubernde Landschaft bewundern, in der gewaltige Eisbären umherstreifen und mächtige Wale majestätisch die frostigen Küstengewässer voller Eisschollen durchpflügen.

Although she loves what she is doing, there are times when bishop Sofie Petersen feels a strong desire to be someplace else than inside her cosy diocesan office in Nuuk, Greenland. Preferably outdoors, inhaling crisp, arctic air in a stunningly beautiful landscape where mighty polar bears roam and huge whales gently plough their way through the ice-scattered waters along the coastline.

Aunque le encanta lo que hace, hay momentos en los que la obispa Sofie Petersen siente el fuerte deseo de estar en un lugar distinto a su acogedora oficina diocesana de Nuuk (Groenlandia). Preferiblemente al aire libre, inhalando el frío aire del Ártico ante un paisaje asombrosamente bello donde vagan imponentes osos polares y enormes ballenas se abren paso lentamente a lo largo de la costa entre las aguas cubiertas de casquetes de hielo.

Même si elle aime ce qu’elle fait, il y a des moments où l’évêque Sofie Petersen a le désir impérieux de se trouver ailleurs que dans son confortable bureau diocésain à Nuuk, au Groenland. De préférence dehors, inhalant l’air vif de l’Arctique dans un paysage d’une beauté époustouflante où de puissants ours polaires déambulent et d’immenses baleines tracent leur route paisiblement entre les plaques de glace le long de la côte.

As Congolese churches, the United Nations and international medical organizations continued to move to stop the spread of a 40-month Ebola virus epidemic, new cases have been confirmed in Uganda, igniting fears that the deadly disease is on the march.

It is confirmation season in Greenland. In churches across the country, bench rows are decorated with flowers and candles along the aisle. Joy is in the air and it is time for a vast majority of 14-year-olds to have their Christian baptism confirmed.

In Greenland, travel by either air or boat is the conventional – and only – way of getting from place to place. The distances between populated areas scattered along the rugged coastline of the world’s largest island are long and there are no roads connecting cities and settlements. Neither railways nor inland waterways exist and some rural areas can only be reached by helicopter. In winter, dog-sled is an alternative, particularly in the north and east.

Thirty years ago, the founders of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women were searching for ways to not only help women across the globe seek justice but also highlight their contributions to churches and the world.