Displaying 1 - 20 of 49
Sort by relevance Sort by date
Feature story
Salt of the Earth, West Bank

Salt of the Earth group draws young Christians together in West Bank

Osama Sayegh has a heart for numbers: four in Deir Ghazaleh, 35 in Kufr Kad, 50 in Toubas, 35 in Jalameh, 67 in Burqin, 130 in Jenin.

He counts the number of Christians left in these communities across the northern part of the West Bank. He reaches with his heart for the people behind those numbers: why are young Christian families leaving? How can he convince them to stay?

20 July 2022
Interview
Dr Elizabeth Joy

Dr Elizabeth Joy’s message to the WCC: “We have created history”

Dr Elizabeth Joy was the first woman ever to be shortlisted as a nominee for the general secretary of the World Council of Churches. A director at Churches Together in England, she is from the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. She grew up in both India and the United Kingdom. Below, during an interview held the day after the WCC elections, she reflects on her roots in the ecumenical movement, and on her message to the WCC.

23 June 2022
Interview
Brother Alois, prior of the Taizé community

Brother Alois: Faith in Christ means strengthening unity

The Taizé community is well-known in the churches around the world for its encouraging accompaniment of young people on their faith journey. How has the pandemic challenged the community located in Southern France, and what do the young people thirst for in the time when most of our interactions take place online? WCC Communications learned more on these topics from Brother Alois, prior of the Taizé community, who was visiting the WCC in the beginning of December.

21 December 2021
Feature story
Bishop preaches in Church in Norway

After tragic Norway landslide, “God is providing light in the shadow”

On 30 December 2020, a tragic landslide struck the village of Ask, Norway, located in Gjerdrum, about 50 kilometers northeast of Oslo. Ten people were killed, and more than 1,000 people had to be evacuated from the area, even as they mourn lost loved ones in the close-knit community.

Below, Rt. Rev. Atle Sommerfeldt, bishop of Borg in the Church of Norway, reflects on how the church is bringing hope in the midst of what, for many in Gjerdrum, has become a valley of despair.

07 January 2021
News
Bishop Kühnbaum-Schmidt stands by an open church door

A hymn of hope ringing out loud during lockdown

In the midst of the nationwide lockdown, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Germany finds new ways to connect people in its congregations. It encourages all people to step out on balconies or come together by open windows, at 8 pm on Christmas Eve, and let their voices ring out loud in the Christmas carol "Silent Night.”

23 December 2020
Interview
Nora Carmi portrait photo

Palestinian Christian peace worker yearns for courageous leaders

As the WCC olive harvest initiative in 2020 drew to a close in early December, WCC News met with Nora Carmi, a Christian Palestinian who has worked for peace and justice her whole life, to hear her perspective on the situation in the holy land today, and the role of faith in sustaining hope.

10 December 2020
Interview
Mitri Raheb stands by a window

A hopeful, but not optimistic Palestinian ecumenist

With olive harvest season coming to an end, life under occupation returns to “normal” for Palestinian communities on the West Bank. Under that “normal,” which means forced displacements and constant fear of threats and harassments, now also looms a threatening Israeli annexation of large chunks of fertile land owned by Palestinian farmers – a move which would “undermine peace and justice and be in direct violation of international law,” according to a joint ecumenical statement by the WCC and other ecumenical organizations earlier this year.  

09 December 2020