Search results

For Nigerian Nwankpa Kenneth Chinedu, attending a course on peacebuilding in Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Geneva opened his eyes and helped eliminate stereotypes and myths he had built in his mind about Muslims.

Working conditions for millions of workers in the informal economy, especially migrants and seasonal workers, tend to escape legal regulations and even fail to meet basic human rights standards. The state as well as the church has a big responsibility regarding the most vulnerable of workers, found participants in a workshop on the protection of workers in an informal economy yesterday at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel was launched by the WCC in 2002 based on an appeal from local church leaders to create an international presence in the country. So far, more than 1,800 ecumenical accompaniers have worked to create conditions for a just peace.

Christianity is growing faster in Africa than anywhere else in the world says Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi, Professor of Ecumenical Biblical Hermeneutics at the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey. He was the convener of a discussion on the Anthology of African Christianity held by the WCC on 15 February with a panel of experts at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

He earned the title “Green Patriarch” as a religious leader addressing alarming environmental issues over at least two decades. In 2008, Time Magazine named His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as one of 100 Most Influential People in the World, for “defining environmentalism as spiritual responsibility”.

From social and diaconal action, to liturgical life, pastoral care, and theological reflection, churches are responding and adapting to the movement of migrants within Europe and beyond its borders. A recent consultation convened by the Conference of European Churches, Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe and WCC took place in Copenhagen from 8 to 10 December 2016.

When the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa re-joined the WCC in June after 55 years, other churches in the country rejoiced at “the return of the prodigal son”. The church, started in the 17th century by European settlers in southern Africa, was once referred to as “the National Party at prayer” so closely tied was its doctrine to the racist ideology of apartheid, and its influence reaching into the cabinet.

The visit of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, H.E. Professor Dr Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, to the World Council of Churches (WCC) last week brought together two premier institutions strongly oriented to leadership in peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue.

Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist religious leaders met this week in Assisi to discuss peace, while across the ocean in New York City global political leaders assembled at the United Nations also focussed on a troubled world.