H.E., Most Rev. Serafim (Kykkotis) of Zimbabwe is the metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Zimbabwe in eastern Africa, part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. He serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive and central committees, and also on the WCC Climate Change Working Group.
Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC central committee, and Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, WCC interim general secretary, sent a letter of condolence to the Methodist Church Sierra Leone on the passing of Bishop John K. Yambasu.
Bishop John K. Yambasu, resident bishop of the United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone and president of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, died suddenly in a road accident on 16 August.
As a wide coalition of faith-based communities from around the world, we have committed to speaking
with one voice that rejects the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose. We reaffirm that the presence of even one nuclear weapon violates the core principles of our different faith traditions and threatens the unimaginable destruction of everything we hold dear.
“It is with great sadness that the World Council of Churches received news about the passing away of Rev. Dr Micheline Kamba Kasongo, an outstanding theologian and ecumenist who contributed enormously to many areas in the ecumenical movement,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, interim general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Who on earth decided in June 1920 in a conference held in Crans, near Geneva, that the following year at Lake Mohonk, New York, an International Missionary Council would be established and give an enormous institutional impulse to the emerging ecumenical movement?
The year 2020 is one etched forever in our memories. The unimaginable happened when a virus seized the world. Vulnerability became the norm, and fiction became a reality. Overnight life became more precious for all of us, the world’s billions. Normality took a break; frustration set in. Everything we took for granted went on hold.
The heart’s conversation with God online - A reflection by Marianne Ejdersten, director of Communications for the World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland. The article published in the Norwegian Magazine for pastors in June, 2020.
The World Council of Churches executive committee met virtually on 1-3 June. The work of the committee, in three intense sessions, focused on governance matters, giving consideration to the ways of working until face-to-face governance meetings can occur again; and to finance matters, with the need to address the requirement for a revised budget for this year. In addition, two public statements have been prepared, discussed and issued, the first concerning the role of churches as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and the second a “Statement on Racial Justice in the USA.”
The worldwide ecumenical family came together to celebrate the life of African bridge-builder, transformer, and social justice champion, Rev. Prof. Dr Mary-Anne Plaatjies-van Huffel at an online service led by the World Council of Churches (WCC).
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Rev. Prof. Dr Mary-Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, a South African pastor and academic who was currently serving as the WCC president from Africa since 2013. She passed away on 19 May.
End of June, early July 1920: 252 Anglican bishops from around the world converge to London. I travel the yellowish pages of the list of dioceses they represent: Zanzibar, Nagpur, Zululand, Adelaide, Argentina, Polynesia, Singapore, Bombay, Southern Brazil, Mombassa, Antigua, Tokyo. They are gathering for a conference called “Lambeth,” from the name of London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, then Randall Davidson, whom they recognise as spiritual leader.
Countries affected by COVID-19 are gradually lifting confinement restrictions that were introduced to contain and mitigate the spread of the pandemic. We are slowly, but surely, limping back to normalcy. Although it is too early to declare a victory against COVID-19, the spread of the virus is abating in many countries. But if we drop our guard, it is likely that the virus will regain a foothold in the weeks to come. Vigilance and patience will be needed in these pressing times.
Remarks of Dr Agnes Abuom, Moderator of the WCC Central Committee at the at the Farewell prayer for the outgoing WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
Recent calls for increased action against hunger by church leaders, faith-based humanitarian agencies and development leaders are finding significance as a new report warns of serious levels of under-nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.
People pray daily for an end to the coronavirus-COVID-19 that is gripping the world, turning human interaction into a virtual affair and upending lives everywhere during a struggle against a silent enemy about which little is known.
Church leaders in eastern Africa are calling for increased action against desert locusts which have terrorised the region since January this year.
Like scenes from the Book of Exodus, huge swarms of the insects have descended on the region, destroying farmlands and animal pastures. The outbreak is affecting seven East African countries, where such a scale of infestation was last seen seven decades ago. At stake is food security for millions of people.
