The same week Brazil reached half a million deaths by COVID-19, my parents got the first dose of the vaccine. On my way to work, I pass through a vaccination post full of people, and through a cemetery full of grief. The past year and few months were a mix of fear, indignation and anger for me. But also a time where I saw generosity and hope bloom.
Democracy at risk, increasing cases of violence against women and the threats to children's futures. A regional meeting with church representatives from Latin America during the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee 2021 showed that pre-pandemic problems now hit harder the vulnerable communities.
In an ecumenical meeting for North American church leaders on 24 June, prayers and discussion centered on issues that are both deeply painful and seemingly insurmountable: racism, division, vaccine hesitancy, genocide, war. But hope found a way into the virtual gathering as participants supported each other to find ways forward.
476 million indigenous people live around the world, of which 11.5% live in our Latin American region. In these years that we are going from the COVID 19 pandemic in our territories (indigenous or tribal at the Latin American level), the presence of many extractive companies, mainly uranium and lithium, has increased, land traffickers and among other monoculture companies with fires for the cultivation of oil palm, logging, putting vulnerable peoples at greater risk than what is already experienced.
As we commemorate 22 May as the International Day for Biological Diversity (Biodiversity Day), we celebrate the beauty and diversity of creation. We acknowledge the glory of God manifested in the whole creation (Palm 104), and the entire creation praises God (Psalm 65).
Lorraine Netro, who was raised in the Gwich’in First Nation of Old Crow, Yukon (Canada), is part of an indigenous community—but she’s also a global citizen.
“Today’s Arctic peoples are important members of global society,” Netro said. “The survival of Arctic cultures and communities remains tied to the wildlife and landscape of the Arctic Refuge.”
As Mozambican churches respond to growing humanitarian challenges in the country, their leaders are urging the government to act decisively to end a violent conflict in the north which has left behind a trail of death, destruction and displacement.
The Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent met virtually from 24-26 March to discuss “Environmental Justice, the Climate Crisis and People of African Descent.”
Young people in the Pacific region shared their unique ecological insights, along with their passion for change, at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Eco-School on Water, Food and Climate Justice in February.
Armenians forced to flee Nagorno-Karabakh during last year's fighting in a conflict with Azerbaijan are thankful to churches and all those offering them shelter as many of their homes were destroyed by bombing or are now occupied by others.
The fourth of a series of five webinars promoted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Pan-African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) was held on 18 February, providing reflections on inclusion of both African culture and tradition into theological reflection.
World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent letters to Ethiopian prime minister Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali as well as to WCC member churches in Ethiopia expressing serious concern over alarming reports of conflict, massacres and other human rights abuses, particularly in the Tigray and Beninshangul-Gumuz regions, over the last months.
A senior African church humanitarian official is calling for joint efforts to meet the growing humanitarian challenge in Tigray, the region in northern Ethiopia.
The fourth edition of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Eco-School on Water, Food and Climate Justice is postponed to 22-28 February 2021. The Eco School will be held in the Pacific region in five countries (Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu & Solomon Islands), hosted by the Pacific Conference of Churches.
A return of desert locusts in East Africa is a major threat to food security in the region, church leaders warned, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause severe disruptions. The locusts—gluttonous species of migratory insects—are considered the world’s oldest pests.
WCC News met online with Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, and she offers reflections on the impact of COVID-19, what gives her hope, and the future of the ecumenical movement.
In the words of Prof. Rev. Dr John Langan SJ, a human right "is a right that a human person has simply by virtue of being (human), irrespective of his or her social status, cultural accomplishments, moral merits, religious beliefs, class memberships or cultural relationships.”
In a pastoral letter to “sisters and brothers in Ethiopia,” eight faith-based organizations expressed Christian love and care, as well as a commitment to accompany churches and people of Ethiopia as they face the challenges confronting their country.
Church leaders and relief agencies have welcomed an agreement between Ethiopia and the UN that will allow humanitarian agencies “unimpeded, secure and sustained” access to the northern region of Tigray.
South Sudanese Church leaders are appealing for urgent humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of their population, who have been left vulnerable by a mix of five crises, including floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.