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A World Council of Churches (WCC) “Pilgrim Team” will visit Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from 18-23 August. Under the theme “African Women of Faith and Gender Justice,” the group aims to acknowledge and build women’s roles in church and society. By focusing on gender justice, and on peace with no violence against women, the Pilgrim Team will raise awareness, and call churches and ecumenical partners to action together for justice and peace.

At the 71st Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, held 1-11 August, the Ecumenical Jury awarded its prize to the film “Sibel,” directed by Guillaume Giovanetti and Çağla Zencirci.

Matthew Ross, World Council of Churches programme executive for Diakonia and Capacity Building, spoke at the opening of the academic year at VID University in Oslo, Norway on 13 August.

Escalating violence in Cameroon, including graphic violence against women and children, has drawn condemnation from the World Council of Churches.

On 26 July at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, there was a marked change in colour at the Interfaith Networking Zone. It was Thursday, and from morning prayers to the evening informal networking, the theme was “black”.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has unveiled a new design for the Thursdays in Black campaign during its Central Committee meeting in mid-June. The design aims to emphasize the journey and solidarity of the global campaign against rape and violence and give new momentum to a movement that recognizes the resistance and resilience of women in the face of violence.

From 3-8 July, gender justice advocates from over thirty countries are convening at the Ecumenical Center, in Geneva, Switzerland, for an advocacy training on women’s human rights for faith-based organizations.

Rev. Gary Harriott knows there is a problem with violence against women and girls in Jamaica. Each year hundreds of women report having been raped and many more rapes and cases of aggression go unreported. Churches can make a difference by speaking out, he says.

While the #MeToo movement may have been trending on social networks in recent months, the World Council of Churches (WCC) has been speaking out against sexual abuse and other forms of violence against women for several decades.

Fifty adolescents, young people, teachers, theologians, health professionals, people living with HIV and religious leaders met in Abuja from 22-26 May to discuss positive masculinities and femininities in faith communities.

People across the world will have an opportunity to join in a special prayer for women who are standing strong in the face of gender-based violence. Each Thursday, beginning 31 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will release via its website and social media a prayer shared by members of “Pilgrim Teams” who have been visiting communities in conflict, and hearing the stories of women who are facing sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence and other injustices.

At the third meeting of the Bologna Interreligious Round Table on Religion and Violence against Women, held 2 May, participants worked with the theme: “Do the churches move? Do men move?”

If the human spirit and likeness of God's will for peace with justice for all people is alive in the world, the pilgrim team that visited South Sudan this week has witnessed it. From 5-9 May, a World Council of Churches “Pilgrim Team” visited South Sudan under the theme “African Women of Faith and Gender Justice.” The delegation was hosted by the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC).

A World Council of Churches “Pilgrim Team” will visit South Sudan from 5-9 May under the theme “African Women of Faith and Gender Justice.”

At 20, Ruth Mathen has already come a long way on the path that God has chosen for her. She heeded his call at a YMCA camp six years ago and is now running a non-government organization together with three college friends.

Rev. Ikechukwu Anaga remembers when people didn’t know about “Thursdays in Black,” the global movement resisting attitudes and practices that permit rape and violence. But his community of Aba, in Abia State, Nigeria, was seeing firsthand an increase in gender-based violence and rape. When Anaga helped others in his community make a firm decision to do something about it, the zeal and passion for Thursdays in Black rose.

Dr Ulysses Burley III is serving as a WCC delegate to the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York City (CSW62), being held 12-23 March. Dr Burley, from Chicago, is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He currently serves on the WCC-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance HIV Access to Treatment Working Group.

Traveling from Tanzania, Esther Ngulwa brought a sense of hope regarding gender equality as she spoke on 10 March, two days before the start of the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) in New York City.

The long-anticipated Conference on World Mission and Evangelism opened on 8 March in Arusha, Tanzania, with African rhythms, almost thousand participants, storytelling, and a spirit of sharing that set the stage for the rest of the week.