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After postponing their unique ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to South Sudan, world Christian leaders will travel to the world’s youngest nation in February.

During a webinar, “Faith Communities in the HIV & AIDS response today,” held on World AIDS Day, participants received an overview of the history of response to HIV from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and UNAIDS, and they mapped the way forward in combatting new challenges.

On 29 November, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff held a farewell prayer for staff members who are retiring or moving on to serve elsewhere, including WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca; WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri; interim deputy general secretary and Faith and Order director Rev. Dr  Odair Pedroso Mateus; Rev. Dr Risto Jukko, director of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism; Diana Chabloz, assistant to the general secretary; and Marc Enzo Bellingoi, project assistant for the Assembly Office.

During a webinar in the “Love Matters” series, young people explored mental health and trauma management in the context of HIV, sexual and gender-based violence, and COVID-19.

As a crowd of more than 300 gathered, the St Paul’s University School of Theology officially launched Thursdays in Black, pledging to build an Africa without violence and to join together on a pilgrimage of justice, peace, and reconciliation.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted Focolare president Margaret Karram and co-president Jesús Moran, as well as other members of the Focolare community, on 28 November, offering a guided tour of the Ecumenical Centre, and discussing unity, reconciliation, inter-religious bridge-building, Faith and Order, and communications, among other issues of interest.

At a tray lunch organized by the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation on 28 November, leaders of global faith-based organizations, UN agencies, and researchers together explored the progress made in preventing gender-based violence, as well as the work ahead.

“As the Living Planet statement highlighted at the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, this year, Christ’s love calls us to deep solidarity and a quest for justice for those who have contributed to this emergency the least, yet suffer the most, physically, existentially, and ecologically, through a transformation of systems and lifestyles”, said WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri. “Therefore, as churches, we welcome the COP27 decision to compensate and support communities on the frontline of climate change impacts”.

On 1 December, World AIDS Day will mark more than 40 years since the first outbreak of the epidemic; however, in 2021, every two minutes, an adolescent girl or young woman (15-24 years old) acquired HIV.

The second week of the COP27 conference in Egypt focused on the link between global warming and water. This is the first time that water has been included on the agenda of a major global environmental event.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) completed its annual meeting from 21-26 November, and also commemorated its 20th anniversary.

A webinar on 24 November, held in South Africa and online, addressed “Overcoming challenges to end violence against women and girls ecumenically.”

In an historic meeting to discuss just peace in the Holy Land, Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca on 23 November. This marks the first meeting between WCC leadership and an Israeli president.