On a recent morning walk right before dawn, I could still see the stars. I saw the Polaris Star, or North Star, which is the brightest star in its constellation. It reminded me of the Underground Railroad and the network of people in North America who led Black people from southern bondage to northern freedom by following the North Star.
We, the members of communities including social thinkers, clergy, theologians, activists, and community leaders representing social organizations, ecumenical institutions, and religious traditions, gathered under the aegis of the New International Financial Economic Architecture (NIFEA). We met at a time when leaders of the G20 were also gathering to deliberate on the future of this planet.
Meeting at the same time as the G20 summit in Delhi, India, a group of social thinkers, community activists, theologians, and religious leaders has called for “radical alternatives” to be reimagined “as an alternative to capitalism, state domination, patriarchy, ableism, cis-heteronormativity, and all forms of racism and casteism.”
World Council of Churches (WCC) progamme director for Public Witness and Diakonia Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata offered a keynote address at a conference for the Diakonia Region Africa-Europe of the World Federation of Diaconal Associations and Diaconal Communities.
"Diakonia of Hope in a fragile world", keynote address by Rev Dr Kenneth Mtata at the Regional Conference for the DRAE (Africa and Europe) region in Neuendettelsau, Germany, 06 - 10 September 2023
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is among signatories on a joint letter to H.E. Sri Narendra Modi—prime minister of the Republic of India and chair of the Group of Twenty (G20)—which urges G20 leaders to adopt a New International Financial and Economic Architecture.
In the lively urban setting of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, theologians, church delegates, activists, and individuals attending the Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics, and Management for an Economy of Life (GEM School) came together between August 21 and 23. They convened for a deep and meaningful discussion at the NIFEA Consultation on Labour.
World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata delved into the heart of “Theology of Work” in a keynote address during the opening of the New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) Consultation on Labour, being hosted 21-23 August by the National Council of Churches in Malaysia.
Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, led a delegation that visited Colombia on 8-11 August to express solidarity with the Colombian churches, government and people as they collaborate in the design, implementation, and advocacy for the construction of peace in the country. Below, he shares his impressions of the visit.
Keynote address of Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia at the "International Conference for Reconciliation in Colombia", Bogota, Colombia, 9 August 2023
Children who gathered prior and during the New Global Financial Pact, held 22-23 June in Paris, delivered a clear message to President Macron and world leaders: the existing colonial economic model must be replaced with one that prioritizes humanity over profits.
At a WCC central committee meeting, members spend hours in plenary dealing with dozens of reports, developing documents, deliberating, discussing, and sometimes differing from each other. But there are also moments during breaks and on their way through the foyer where they enter another part of the life of the WCC.
Address of Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, at the WCC central committee meeting on 21-27 June 2023.
In an exclusive interview, a prominent figure in the field of peace and justice, the former general secretary of National Council of Churches in Korea and former executive secretary for the Christian Conference of Asia, Rev. Hong-Jung Lee, shared insights into his journey and experiences working towards peace and justice in the Korean Peninsula. Drawing on his extensive experience and involvement in various ecumenical organizations, he shed light on the importance of healing, reconciliation, and the role of churches and Christians in advancing peace in Korea.
Statement on the Worsening Global Food Crisis by the Executive committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting via video conference on 22-26 May 2023.
“Tax justice is a matter of faith,” said Suzanne Matale. “By faith, [all] are entitled to abundant life. Ordinary people have a right to know and to participate in decision-making tables that affect our own God-given dignity.”
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay commented on the synthesis of the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released 20 March.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay commented on the synthesis of the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released 20 March.
