Search results

A reflection originally shared at the "Working Together" meeting between the World Council of Churches and specialized ministries, convened 3-4 May in Bossey, Switzerland. 

A reflection originally shared at the "Working Together" meeting between the World Council of Churches and specialized ministries, convened 3-4 May in Bossey, Switzerland. 

In 1990 at the age of 22, I was diagnosed with HIV. Shortly thereafter, I also discovered that I was pregnant. My whole adult life has been about learning to live well with this virus.

We mark 4 March as World Obesity Day. Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk. Obesity has more than tripled since 1975, and more than 1 billion people are obese in the world today. 

Permacrisis—defined as "an extended period of instability and insecurity”—has been chosen as Collins Dictionary's word for the year 2022. It is a depressingly accurate word encapsulating what the world is experiencing as we move into 2023.

COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh is over. Numerous reports have all pointed out that if we don't cut the emissions of greenhouse gases radically and immediately, we will not keep the global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees. Therefore, the emissions must drastically decrease in the coming decades if we want to avoid severe consequences for our home, planet Earth.

As we observed World Water Day on 22 March, the issue of availability of water, including the impact of climate change and how it affects quality access to water for many people across the world, came to the fore. 

Participating in the COP26 in Glasgow resembled a reunion of sorts. After the pandemic cancelled meetings of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change and led to the rescheduling COP26, it was wonderful to catch up with my ecumenical friends who are devoted to the work of climate justice.

Wandering and homecoming is the stuff and substance of life.  Also the heart of the 23rd Psalm, beloved and old and yet ever new and beautifully enlivened in a surprising way: the the new neon installation by James Pfaff who wandered and returned.

Human trafficking continues to remain one of the most grievous assaults on the fundamental rights and inherent dignity of people. The crime, also known as modern-day slavery, is dehumanising in the sense that it corrupts one’s identity as being made in the image of God, instead reducing one to a mere commodity or object.

The birth of a child is a very significant, important and joyous occasion. It is perhaps a life-changing experience for those who become parents for the first time. The coming of a child is usually accompanied by celebrations, including religious ones. 

I’m writing this text exactly one year after Brazil declared quarantine, on 16 March. Last year we went into quarantine thinking it would only be two weeks at home, and maybe a few months of wearing masks and sanitizing our hands. I’m the first to confess that I’ve underestimated the virus. However, we all know that is not how it went. Month after month went by - the internet joked about how could it possibly be August already, when last week was March?

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col. 1:17)

Many verses in scripture accurately portray some of the emotions around cancer: pain and suffering, mortality and loss, comfort and redemption, faith and eternity.

We believe that the global prayer campaign for the Korean Peninsula will be a key of peace to open the gate to cultivate forgiveness and reconciliation, a fountain of peace to revitalize a global ecumenical solidarity, and a milestone of peace to end the war on the Korean Peninsula after 70 years.

“Conflict-related sexual violence” is understood as “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict.”

Two months ago, I would not have spent a Sunday afternoon driving through a deserted city. There were people out and about, walking with children in strollers, jogging, laughing. Some were driving to do errands and buy groceries. Although it was sunny, there was still a somber pall over the city. I am told the same is true of New York and Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, and other cities.