Search results

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I had addressed you less than a week ago at the opening of the WCC Eco School 2020-2021 on Sunday evening, Geneva time. And here I am addressing you at the closing. The past 5 days have passed very quickly.  I have been updated by my colleagues responsible for the Eco School that this was an unique experience for all of them and I am sure for you as well. Carrying out a training programme for 5 consecutive days beyond midnight was new for most of them.  But I gather it has been a very enriching experience for them journeying with you all imparting this important training and at the same time listening to your valuable comments, questions and feedback.  But as I said in the opening, despite the geographic and time divide, we are united together virtually for a common cause  -  and that it eco justice! 

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We are deeply privileged to conduct this Eco- School with all of you, with the youth from 5 different nations, in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga and Vanuatu. We are truly blessed to join you, the Pacific youth, along with the global ecumenical family and partners for this opening ceremony. We are holding hands virtually, bridging the oceans, the geographic and time divide, and the disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. We thank you, the Pacific youth, for your time and commitment.

The fifth reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is done jointly by Dr Manoj Kurian and Ms Athena Peralta, the Coordinator of WCC-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and Programme Executive of WCC Economic and Ecological Justice programmes respectively. In the following reflection, they underline the nexus between water, food and climate change and how our irresponsible consumption pattern on one can influence the other sectors.  They further challenge us to review our footprints on water, climate change etc and encourage us to take actions this Lent for making our planet more sustainable.

The third reflection of the “Seven Weeks for Water 2019” of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network is by Grace Ji-Sun Kim, an ordained minister of PC (USA). She received her PhD from the University of Toronto and works as an Associate Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is a prolific writer and the author or editor of 16 books including, Making Peace with the Earth. Kim is part of the World Council of Churches working group on climate change. In this reflection, she recollects her early days in Korea and how she looked at the water then and now, as an eco-feminist theologian. She further reflects on the promise of God "I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground…" and contrasts it with today's consumeristic lifestyle, which is polluting our water bodies and denying millions from enjoying this life-giving gift of God – Water!

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.

The 5^th reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by  Dr Rogate Mshana. Dr Mshana, a renowned economist is a former staff member of World Council of Churches responsible for its programme on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology, later known as the Economy of Life. He is currently working as a consultant on Economic Justice for the Council for World Mission and based in his home country, Tanzania. In the following reflection, he deals with the 5 normative contents of human rights framework on water in the context of Africa. He further relates water as a key element to achieve food security, health security and gender justice.

The second biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Advocate Rajendra Sail, a founding member of an ecumenical social change organization, Raipur Churches Development & Relief Committee (RCDRC), in Chhattisgarh (Central India). Through this reflection, he challenges the rampant commodification of water by the profit oriented corporates, when people are denied access to water for a dignified living.