Pope Francis joined the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the moderator of its Central Committee at an ecumenical meeting during his landmark 21 June visit to the WCC to celebrate its 70th anniversary at an ecumenical meeting in Geneva.
Papa Francesco ha preso parte con il segretario generale del Consiglio ecumenico delle chiese (CEC) e la moderatrice del Comitato centrale del CEC ad un incontro ecumenico durante la sua storica visita del 21 giugno al CEC per celebrarne il 70° anniversario ad un incontro ecumenico a Ginevra.
Despite a signed and ratified peace agreement, the long journey of regional churches and the WCC in support of peace in Colombia is not over, says the WCC central committee, which urges churches, governments, and others to press toward fulfillment of the terms and promises of the agreement, to prevent momentum ceasing and violence resurging.
“The pilgrim experience is one great communal prayer by walking together”, said Rev. Dr Fernando Enns, speaking to the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee on 18 June, during a plenary on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.
In writing a story for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Elias Crisóstomo Abramides of Argentina, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is writing the story of his life. His service at the WCC opened for him the gate to meeting and loving “the very good Creation of God”: love, respect and admiration for the life of his neighbours and for all creation.
People across the world will have an opportunity to join in a special prayer for women who are standing strong in the face of gender-based violence. Each Thursday, beginning 31 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will release via its website and social media a prayer shared by members of “Pilgrim Teams” who have been visiting communities in conflict, and hearing the stories of women who are facing sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence and other injustices.
Christians are called to take up together the challenges of peace, unity and costly discipleship the Global Christian Forum has said in a 27 April closing Message to the churches of the world sent from Bogotá, Colombia.
A leader in Colombia’s administration in Bogota at the third Global Gathering of the Global Christian Forum (GCF) praised the Christian community and religious groups for the role they have paid in the South American country’s peace process.
World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has told participants at the Global Christian Forum’s Third (GCF) Global Gathering in Bogota, Colombia that the GCF is remarkable in building trust among participants and opening ways for new forms of cooperation.
Message of the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to the Third Global Gathering of the Global Christian Forum in Bogota, Colombia, April 23-28 2018
Steve de Gruchy Memorial Lecture by WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri. Rodebosch United Church, Cape Town, South Africa. By Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri (24 April 2018)
From 16-27 April, the United Nations headquarters in New York City is hosting the 17th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is assisting the participation of a representative of the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples Network Reference Group (EIPNRG) and co-sponsored a public event that explored ways that the church can move into a new phase of interaction with indigenous communities.
The fourth reflection of the of the "Seven Weeks for Water", of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network, is by Rev. Adelaida Jiménez Cortes, a pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia. She has a master’s degree in Theological Studies and currently she is a doctoral candidate in Education with a specialty in Pedagogical Mediation. In the following reflection she draws a parallel between the situation of Hagar, who had the challenge to survive and keep her son Ishmael alive in a desert without water, to a village in the northern region of Colombia where women have the socially entrusted “responsibility” to fetch water for their families amidst water scarcity.
The second reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water is by Rev. Gloria Ulloa, an ordained priest of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia and the president of the World Council of Churches, Latin American region. In the following reflection she relates her own experiences of growing up in her village by the riverside. She laments the current situation of water in the Latin American region and challenges the churches to address this water crisis to usher fullness of life among us.
"Churches can play a fundamental role in building peace in Colombia," said Colombia president Juan Manuel Santos, on 28 February, during his keynote speech at a public forum promoted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), in Cartagena, Colombia.