The Global Christian Forum, with its fourth global gathering underway in Ghana, is marking its 25thanniversary at a time when the world is in dire need of justice, reconciliation, and unity.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) shared joyful greetings on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Argentine Commission for Refugees and Migrants (CAREF).
As churches in the southern hemisphere closed the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 28 May, they brought final reflections to this year’s theme of “Do good; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17).”
Aa the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, the World Council of Churches staff and partners gathered in a spirit of unity to “Do good; seek justice,” the theme of this year’s special week.
“Affirming justice and human dignity” was the theme of the fourth thematic plenary of the World Council of Churches(WCC) 11th assembly on 6 September. The presentation featured a wheelchair dance performance by Fadi El Halabi, a wheelchair user and Ms. Karen Abi Nader, an international artist. In the freestyle dance, Halabi effortlessly spinned around his wheelchair and, with slow coordinated moves together with his dance partner, threw hands in the air symbolizing the joy that can only be felt when all exclusionary and disempowerment practices in church and society are addressed.
Karlsruhe, a city built over 300 hundred years ago without walls, open to friends and guests —at a time where other cities still hid behind their fortifications —welcomed people from all over the world to four pre-assemblies that are bringing forward powerful calls to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
On 20 May 2022, a group of us, 14 pilgrims from different parts of the world (Kenya, Brussels, Germany, Hong Kong, Philippines, Poland, Rome, Korea, Canada, Fiji, Australia, London, Scotland, and Geneva—a very diverse group) gathered in Palermo, Italy for a Pilgrim Team Visit on the theme of migration.
Ekaterina E. wears the human face of statelessness every day.“Statelessness is about expulsion from the human community” she says, “for me personally, being stateless means I have been separated from my mother for nearly 30 years now.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Sarah Newland Martin, known for her lifetime of advocacy for persons with disabilities, for her leadership with the YMCA and Jamaica Baptist Union, and her ecumenical bridge-building.
At a pre-assembly planning meeting and informal networking session, the Karlsruhe local assembly office hosted a programme on 17 May to discuss the current status of planning for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly. More than 150 people attended.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and Religions for Peace will issue on 9 May a joint message on statelessness, “Belonging—Affirmations for Faith Leaders”.
The document is one of the most recent fruits of WCC work that has been ongoing for more than a decade around the issue of statelessness. It is currently available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
The Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe - CCME released a statement that speaks about the response of Europe to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. The statement addresses the concerns of discriminatory treatment of non-Ukrainians and minority ethnic people in this context and the more general question that the generosity shown in recent weeks often has not been extended to those fleeing from elsewhere.
Below, Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary at the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, reflects on why church leaders requested such a statement, and what lies at the heart of some of their different inputs.
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.
As preparations continue for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2022, pre-assemblies are taking shape as well. Planners are working to create an experience in which people can work together in transformational ways.
A symposium exploring the complex question of misleading theologies in Africa ended here on 24 November, amid concerns that the phenomenon was harming the efforts to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and other diseases.
In a world crying out for justice and peace, the theme of the 2022 assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” speaks of hope for a future in which resources are shared, inequalities are addressed and all can enjoy dignity, according to a new publication reflecting on the assembly theme.
World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca offered reflections on the newest encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti. Subtitled “On fraternity and social friendship,” the document is the Pope’s third encyclical.
A new report and resource kit to address hateful content online has been published by WACC Europe, the European region of the World Association for Christian Communication.
A dozen global and regional religious organizations released an advocacy statement on the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe that defines their calling as Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and urges the creation of a world in which “we become human together.”