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Protecting Ethiopia’s church forests

In many parts of Ethiopia, the forests surrounding churches and monasteries are among the last remaining in the country. They are severely threatened as people cut trees to obtain firewood. The church fights for the preservation of the forests by making local communities more aware of the link between the forests and water availability and by helping them to find alternative livelihoods for themselves and their families.

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith: From a Christian Pan African perspective, “who writes the stories?”

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World. She also serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She recently participated in a rally and march in Washington, DC, where thousands gathered to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream" speech.

Former WCC executive finds joy working for peace in Ethiopia

Dr. Nigussu Legesse shared in the joy a year ago when the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church declared an end to a 27-year-old schism that had torn it apart. That rapprochement set in motion a series of events that are taking him back to his homeland.
Legesse was then World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive and convener for Africa.
After more than 10 years at the council, he is moving back to Addis Ababa as executive director of the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Associations.

“Only through shared progress can we be free from hunger and inequity”

This week world leaders are gathered in Davos under the very theme of “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”. They do so at a time when we see poverty amongst plenty; hunger and thirst in the midst of abundance; shocking disparities in the quality of life between neighboring communities: real problems that the world has the potential and the possibilities to resolve.

Primate visit, panel on Christianity and human rights in multi-faith Nigeria

On 29 January 2018, the WCC invites media to a public panel discussion on “Christianity and human rights in multi-faith Nigeria”, hosted at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva at 14.00-15.30. The event is followed by a press briefing. The event forms part of a visit to Geneva by His Holiness Pope Dr Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, Primate and Metropolitan Archbishop of the Church of The Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Worldwide, and will feature a discussion on current challenges for Christianity in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, as well as how churches address human rights violations in a multi-faith context.

Christianity and human rights in multi-faith Nigeria

29 January 2018

The Nigerian Patriarch His Holiness Pope Dr Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, Primate and Metropolitan Archbishop of the Church of The Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Worldwide is visiting Geneva and the WCC 29-30 January 2018. A public panel on "Christianity and human rights in multi-faith Nigeria", hosted by WCC, will take place 29 January at 14.00-15.30, at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. The event is followed by a press briefing.

Ecumenical Centre, Visser’t Hooft Hall (Main Hall)

In South Sudan, times are difficult but churches serve together

For Father James Oyet-Latansio the South Sudan Council of Churches general secretary admits that in his country the churches are serving “in a difficult time, but we serve wherever we are needed”. He was taking a breather during the 3-6 October Ecumenical Strategic Forum on Diakonia and Sustainable Development convened by the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

“Good healthcare a right, not a privilege,” says WCC-EAA

The World Council of Churches - Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance endorses a newly expanded collaboration on HIV between the Medicine Patent Pool and Gilead. On 4 October, the MPP announced a licence with Gilead Sciences for bictegravir, a new integrase inhibitor part of a once-daily, single-tablet HIV regimen currently filed for regulatory approval at the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Union.

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church hosts WCC delegation

A delegation from the WCC concluded a solidarity visit to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, one of Africa’s oldest Christian churches dating back to the year AD 329. It was the first such visit in more than 10 years and the WCC left with a pledge to pray and work for peace between Eritrea and its neighbor Ethiopia as they attempt to resolve a border dispute.

WCC water network plans to intensify water justice advocacy

The International Reference Group (IRG) of the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN), the water justice initiative of the World Council of Churches (WCC) held its annual meeting in Malawi as the UN revealed that 2.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.