Search results

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace Reference Group and Theological Study Group are convening online this week to share reflections and harvest theological learnings.

“With each wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, communities have been experiencing collective trauma that has further deepened the injustices, including racism and economic inequity,” said Rev. Dr Sang Chang, World Council of Churches (WCC) president for Asia, during an online consultation, organised by the WCC and the Christian Conference of Asia on 4 June.

Grief and anger in Canada and across the world have followed the news that the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School in the western Canadian province of British Columbia.

During a “Season of Creation Intergenerational Dialogue” webinar on 3 June, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca gave closing remarks, reflecting on how the earth can be a home for us all.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, the World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed the establishment of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, while at the same time urging the UN to take a more assertive role to ensure the ceasefire is not simply a lull in the violence. The letter laments the  “heavy toll in civilian lives, especially children and women” - which has overwhelmingly affected the people of Gaza but which has also affected communities in Israel - as well as the destruction of schools and hospitals, and the attacks on the international media during this conflict. “The responsibility under international law to protect these populations and institutions is fundamental” the letter stresses, “and there must be accountability for violations thereof.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, convening from 17-20 May, set a tone of hope for the future while, at the same time, addressing multiple global crises with statements, pastoral messages, and calls for prayer.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is publishing “Because God Loves Me—Affirming My Value in Christ,” a new curriculum written in French that is designed to help children ages 7-12 address gender-based violence.

Though the curriculum, edited by Yvette A. Kelem and Blandine E. Ackla, was developed for use primarily with churches and church groups in Africa, it is relevant and accessible for other French-speaking populations as well. 
 

After family members of a DanChurchAid employee were killed in Gaza during the current hostilities, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent a letter of condolence to both DanChurchAid and Norwegian Church Aid, WCC partner organizations that have been working in Gaza since the early 1950s.

The World Council of Churches joined dozens of other faith-based and humanitarian groups in signing a Global Civil Society Statement on Myanmar urging the United Nations Security Council to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on Myanmar to help prevent further violations of human rights against peaceful protesters and others opposing military rule.

Archbishop Rev. Dr Soritua Albert Ernest Nababan, a global ecumenical leader, passed away on 8 May in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the age of 88. He was the World Council of Churches (WCC) president from 2006-2013 and served as the former Ephorus (Archbishop) of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, the largest Protestant church in Indonesia and the largest Lutheran church in Asia with a membership of 4 million people.