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Churches in South Sudan are appealing for humanitarian assistance, amidst fears that the consequences of climate change, macro-economic shocks, and the war in Sudan could sink the country further into the worst humanitarian crisis since independence.

“We won’t leave Gaza as long as there is a standing church.” 

“We will not be the last Christians living in Gaza.” “

“We lost everything, but we can’t lose our mission and our belonging to this place dear to our hearts.”

“Christianity started here and will continue to be here.”  

These are the words people are uttering as Nader Abu Amsha, executive director of Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches (DSPR-MECC), tries to help them simply survive the next day. 

With a focus on the legacy of nuclear testing and climate change, the World Council of Churches (WCC) completed a pilgrimage visit to the Marshall Islands on 16-24 November.

As the world reaches what UN secretary-general António Guterres has termed “an inflection point” in addressing major, converging crises, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is intensifying its close interactions with the United Nations, key UN agencies, and partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

With olive picking about to begin in earnest for Palestinian farmers, they are sharing joy in their deep tradition of the harvest—and deep apprehension about harassment and aggression that seems to have already set in.

Church leaders in Pakistan are calling for international solidarity and for measures to ensure the safety and security of Christians in Pakistan. Their messages come in the wake of church burnings in the city of Jaranwala, in eastern Pakistan, where 24 churches have been burned, affecting at least 600 families.

In Renk, a small South Sudanese town on the banks of the White Nile, churches are working to help thousands of people fleeing the war in the neighbouring Sudan.

Amidst amplified calls for peace in Sudan, a glimmer of hope has spread in the northeastern African country, after fighting forces announced a 72-hour ceasefire.

An ecumenical delegation composed of five members from the National Baptist Convention USA Inc, United Methodist Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and United Church of Christ attended the first session of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, a historic event that constitutes the culmination of several years of consistent advocacy.

Twenty-six-year-old Samyah* has no ID card—not Palestinian or Israeli. Born in the West Bank, she once had a Jerusalem ID card after her father but it was revoked. She found out about the revocation when she was 16 and thought had the opportunity to travel with her school to Switzerland. She could not travel. Since then, Samyah and her family have been struggling to regain her Jerusalem ID card.

Located in the Flores neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires, for almost 50 years the Argentine Commission for Refugees and Migrants has carried out committed work in favor of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Im Omar—as named after her eldest son—mother of six, must scrape every day for something most people take for granted: water. For her, water is scarce—and it’s directly connected to her family’s livelihood. 

Amid a warning that a famine is “at the doorstep” in eastern Africa, church leaders are re-stressing urgent action to save millions of people caught in a drought described as the worst in 40 years.

When the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, churches had already been responding to humanitarian need in the country for eight years, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.  The work being undertaken by churches in meeting the needs of those displaced by the war is not new, but the scale is staggering as 14 million people have been displaced in the six months since the invasion began.

A “ban plan” outlining what the world needs to do to eliminate nuclear weapons is the “strongest condemnation of nuclear threats by a multilateral UN conference,” said Jennifer Philpot-Nissen, programme executive for Human Rights and Disarmament for the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. 

On World Food Safety Day, clerics and farmers in Kenya reflected about aflatoxin—a group of poisons found in maize and peanuts—that continue to cause deaths and related diseases in the East African country.

As Eid Jahaleen takes in the beautiful view in his Bedouin community of Khan El Ahmar, he reflects on many aspects he loves about his life.

A church leader in South Sudan is urging the international community to keep its focus on the growing humanitarian crisis in the world’s youngest nation, as the globe beams its attention on the conflict in Ukraine.

While the World Council of Churches (WCC) deeply appreciates peace-building efforts in South Sudan, the WCC is also calling attention to the dire circumstances in which the people of South Sudan are still forced to lead their daily lives.

Women of faith who are African or of African descent held a powerful recent gathering, “Ubuntu: Remembrance, Diversity, and Advocacy in Unity Now!” in which they shared their call to action with a sense of Sankofa, or a season of now while looking back and forward. The event was organized by the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) and Pan African Women of Faith (PAW).