Churches in South Sudan shared Easter messages of hope, even amid troubling times for the African nation.The South Sudan Council of Churches, in its message, emphasized renewed hope. “In today’s world, marked by so many conflicts and so much suffering, we understand that many of us feel disheartened,” reads the message.
As part of a new program specifically for girls within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America through its Ecumenical Department, a group of 13 young women participated in advocacy at the UN in conjunction with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).
On 11 January, some 430 young people from congregations from Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay of the Evangelical Church of the Río de la Plata (IERP) gathered to participate in the “IERPino” youth meeting. They actively observed the Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence.
The Thursdays in Black campaign now has a Youth Edition, developed by young people who are building a network in support of a world free from rape and violence.
Gloria Pua Ulloa is gender justice and youth programme officer for the Evangelical Service of Diakonia, an ACT Alliance member. She is part of the ecumenical delegation at COP28.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay congratulated former WCC general secretary Most Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, former WCC general secretary and presiding bishop of the Church of Norway, on receiving an award from King Harald of Norway.
The newly formed World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation held its inaugural meeting, the first since the WCC 11th Assembly, on 19 October.
"2000", "3000", "10 000,” and "we cannot provide reliable estimates regarding the number of victims”—these were heard and read in the last days ever too often about the situation in Libya. This situation highlights the pressing issues of climate change and global injustices also regarding the youth. Again and again.
In a joint greeting to the Lutheran World Federation Assembly, gathered in Krakow, Poland from 13-19 September, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Pillay and WCC moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm reflected on the assembly’s theme, “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope.”
World Council of Churches (WCC) progamme director for Public Witness and Diakonia Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata spoke at the European Christian Environmental Network Assembly, currently convening in Roskilde, Denmark.
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.
Forty retired World Council of Churches (WCC) staff gathered at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey on 22 August to celebrate the WCC’s 75th anniversary and to receive greetings and reflections from WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.
Seeking to join efforts with those committed to ensure a just and sustainable future for the continent, representatives from World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches in Latin America gathered at the WCC central committee in June to identify common concerns.
From 2020 to 2021, more than 50 million people were displaced due to weather events and faced risks of trafficking and even death as well as discrimination based on race and gender. This finding emerged from the report of Ian Fry, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, to the 53rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva from 19 June-14 July.
With the topics of the war in Ukraine and climate protection as the focal points, the 38th German Protestant Kirchentag takes place in Nuremberg, Germany from 7 to 11 June. The World Council of Churches’ presence in the Kirchentag’s exhibition space “Market of Opportunities” (hall 9, stand 9-C32) enables lively encounters and an opportunity to learn more about the ecumenical movement.
Leaders from specialized ministries who gathered for a high-level roundtable with the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 16 May reflected on how the ecumenical fellowship can tackle complex and difficult issues with theological reasoning and concrete actions.
Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, reflects below on the biggest challenges facing churches in Africa, and hopes for the future.
Below, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Public Witness and Diakonia, reflects on the relevance of ecumenical diakonia and public witness today.