On the 28th Quadrennial Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India, held in Jabalpur from 27-30 April, Rev. Dr Sang Chang, WCC president for Asia, urged Indian churches to commit themselves afresh to the task of building just and inclusive communities.
A delegation representing churches and ecumenical bodies around the world met for an historic international ecumenical visit and meeting in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from 23 to 30 October.
The WCC welcomed an initiative by the South African government to propose a resolution on “Ethical Imperatives for a Nuclear-weapons-free World” for adoption at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Hiroshima, 6 August 2015 - What sights and sounds told this city’s story today? A graveside scream at dawn? The penetrating gong that sounded to mark the moment the atomic bomb exploded 70 years ago? Candle lanterns floating toward the sea on the evening tide? Or a young pastor’s confession, “I feel guilty”, because his family was spared 70 years ago by a last-minute twist of fate?
“The first thing that is required of us is to live the courage of our convictions. For the World Council of Churches, our conviction is that the world must be freed of nuclear weapons,” said the Rev. Dr Sang Chang, WCC president for Asia, in her address at the Nuclear Disarmament Symposium held in Hiroshima.
Speech by Rev. Dr Sang Chang, WCC Asia President, Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, at the Nuclear Disarmament Symposium Hiroshima, 6 August 2015.
Discours de la pasteure Sang Chang, présidente du COE pour l'Asie, de l'Église presbytérienne de la République de Corée, au Colloque sur le désarmement nucléaire qui s'est tenu à Hiroshima (Japon) le 6 août.
Church leaders from seven countries currently making historic choices for or against outlawing nuclear weapons will embark on a pilgrimage in early August to the two Japanese cities that were decimated by atomic bombs 70 years ago.
In early August, WCC representatives will embark on an unusual pilgrimage. A group of church leaders will travel to two cities devastated by the deadliest of weapons 70 years ago, then visit governments still willing to destroy thousands of cities in similar fashion today.
Hanshin University in the Republic of Korea has awarded Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC the title of “Doctor honoris causa” for his ecumenical vision on unity, justice and peace.
Two phoenix sculptures hung suspended from the ceiling, their bodies dotted with lights and their tail feathers unfurling above the heads of the faith leaders and adherents who gathered in the Cathedral of St John the Divine for an interfaith service on 21 September in New York.
Representatives from the WCC and Japanese churches meet with second in command of Japanese government about nuclear dangers and maintaining peace clause in constitution.
Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.
These pilgrims are laughing a lot. After intensely debating everything from church unity to the very meaning of the word “pilgrimage” last week, some members of the WCC Central Committee embarked on a three-hour hike on Sunday afternoon that revealed the not-so-serious side of the WCC governing body.
Situations of conflict, social fragmentation and political tensions in South Sudan, South Korea and Nigeria, as well as struggles of the churches in these countries seeking justice, peace and stability for all people and communities, formed the focus of a session on 3 July at the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
