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Rt. Rev. Dr. Munib Younan, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, will be the 2020 recipient of the Kenneth W. Bensen Award for Contextual Leadership presented by OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership.

In a 21 September letter, World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca congratulated Dr Michel Abs on being elected as the next secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches.

As churches across the world observed the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, they were reminded of God’s infinite love yet confessed to feeling overwhelmed by dark forces, too.

Prayers, minds and hearts across the world were focused on the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel during an online ecumenical gathering hosted by the WCC on 14 September.

The WCC’s executive committee took note of a recent decision by the Jerusalem District Court in a longstanding property dispute involving churches there and encouraged the Israeli government to respect the rights of Christian churches in the Old City.

With four panelists and a lively discussion, the South African Council of Churches hosted a webinar entitled “Conversation on Annexation with Christians in the Holy Land” on 2 July.

Church leaders from across the world are expressing their grave concern over the government of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

In a 7 May statement, Patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem expressed their deep concern about Israeli unilateral annexation plans.

Churches worldwide have been releasing their official reactions to the proposal by US president Trump and Israeli prime minister Netanyahu for dividing up Palestine and Israel.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed concern and sadness over the threats against Archbishop Atallah Hanna, he was poisoned in his church residence in Jerusalem in December.

Born in Nazareth, Galilee, Rev. Dr Saïd Ailabouni moved to the US at the age of 19 to become a physician. But he was so angry at God that he went to study theology instead, becoming a Lutheran pastor. Now he is leading the Middle East & Europe desk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since leaving his hometown 50 years ago, he visits his Palestinian family regularly. As the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches, Ailabouni agreed to share some of his lifetime observations with the Word Council of Churches.

In a letter co-addressed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations special rapporteur on situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, the World Council of Churches expressed concern over the high rates of human rights violations and violence currently taking place in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel is reporting that nine homes in Wadi-Al-Hummus have been demolished, with at least two families forcibly removed from their homes, as observed by Ecumenical Accompaniers on site. Over 100 families were removed altogether and prior to the demolitions.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) made a positive impact at the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held 24 June through 12 July.

The WCC has a long history of engagement with the United Nations human rights system, in witnessing and advocating for human dignity and justice on behalf of the worldwide ecumenical movement.

On 11 July, the Heads of Jerusalem Churches held a prayer rally near Jaffa Gate’s Imperial and Petra hotels, in protest of Israel’s Supreme Court decision to overturn the appeal made by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate against the sale of three of its properties to a settlement group.