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As African women church leaders gathered last week for an inaugural “Ecumenical Women’s Initiative for Leadership and Learning”, they lamented grave injustices, celebrated women pioneers, and nurtured a spirit of solidarity they hope will blaze a global trail for the future. 

The Middle East Council of Churches held its 12th General Assembly on 16-20 May in Egypt, exploring the theme “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.”

A message from the gathering touches upon many challenges facing the Middle East.

 

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed the revulsion of the global fellowship of churches at the murder of Deborah Yakubu, a second-year college student beaten to death and burnt by a group of her fellow students in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.

An inaugural “Ecumenical Women Church Leaders Initiative Consultation” will kick off from 17-19 May as a dozen African women gather in Geneva and online to exchange experiences and critical reflections.

World Council of Churches (WCC) staff gathered from 5 to 8 April for the first in-person Staff Planning Days in more than two years. Gathering also in a hybrid fashion, the aim was to strengthen collaboration, continue planning for the WCC 11th Assembly and initiate planning for 2023.

As the hybrid book event on a deeper dive in the youth publication “Let the waves roar” commenced on 1 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca welcomed everyone, saying: “I am so grateful to have the new publication with perspectives of young prophetic voices in the ecumenical movement, especially as we move toward the 11th assembly.”

On the UN International Day of  Conscience, 5 April, the World Council of Churches (WCC) releases a new volume of “I Belong – Biblical Reflections on Statelessness”. The day highlights the need for the creation of conditions of stability, peaceful coexistence, respect for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, language or religion.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has set a deadline of 1 June for receiving quilt patches that will become part of a "Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance" tapestry for display at the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.

During a prayer service organized online on 21 March, the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Rev. Traci D. Blackmon, associate general minister, Justice & Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, reflected on what it means to stay silent in a world full of injustice.

During a Women’s Pilgrim Team Visit held on 8 March—International Women’s Day—women from North America and other parts of the globe continued to explore the theme “Stony the Road: Women’s Voices of Faith, Courage, Resistance & Resilience.” 

The visit was organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the National Council of Churches (USA).

A roundtable hosted by the World Council of Churches and the World Association for Christian Communication released a message on 8 March that addresses the role of media in a world striving for gender equality.

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri offered reflections on “Women, Pain and Resilience from the African and ecumenical perspective.” The webinar, held on 4 March, was organized by the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. 

 

Encouraging the WCC fellowship in its ongoing call to discipleship together, the WCC central committee commended to WCC member churches the document “Called to Transformation—Ecumenical Diakonia and Addendums.”