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Seven Weeks for Water 2022, week 4: “Water for peace: an interfaith perspective”, by Susanne Öhlmann

The fourth reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2022 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written by Susanne Öhlmann.* She says water and peace are similar to each other. We do not miss them until they are absent. On one hand, Europe, a water rich continent, has started to feel the pinch of water shortages in recent times, and on the other, peace and security of the region has started to destabilize in the wake of war in Ukraine. Drawing inspiration from the prophet Amos, she prays for peace and justice to prevail.

Sheikh Maher Assaf: Open Jerusalem’s access to holy places for all

The following feature story is part of a series that continues this years Easter Initiative, which offers a glimpse into the daily lives of Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, living in and around Jerusalem, some of the challenges they face, and what gives them hope. The concept of sacredness underscores these stories. Below, Sheikh Maher Assafs story, set in Bethlehem, speaks to the sacredness of worship, and how freedom of religion is key to achieving peace.

Study trip to Rome testifies that ecumenical engagements can move forward

Our successful visit to Rome with various ecumenical deliberations itself testifies that ecumenical engagements can move forward despite the pandemic. The launch of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity document “Ecumenism in a Time of Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunity,” followed by an ecumenical panel discussion, helped us to understand how different churches have approached the pandemic. 

Rev. Frank Chikane: “You can’t do unity at the expense of justice”

When Rev. Frank Chikane was leading the South African Council of Churches in calling out injustices of the apartheid system, their work did not stop even after the council’s office building was bombed to the ground in 1980s. Moderating the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 2016, Rev. Chikane has been engaged in addressing injustices in many parts of the world. WCC Communication asked Rev. Chikane to look back at his term at the commission and the ongoing calling of churches to address injustices in the world today.

Church and religious leaders worldwide pay tribute to Desmond Tutu’s life

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, one of the people who followed in the footsteps of Desmond Tutu as archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa announced the death of the Arch” as he was affectionately known on 26 December, fittingly celebrated in South Africa as the Day of Goodwill.”

11th Assembly Bible study - Pentecost

Part of a series of Bible studies in preparation for the WCC 11th Assembly, this seventh text was written by Karen Durant-McSweeney, from Friendship Methodist Church, Friendship Circuit, Guyana.

Thursdays in Black Bible study series-Looking and Seeing (Luke 13:10–17)

Sister Imelda Poole, MBE, a native of Great Britain, is a sister of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). After many years in the field of education and grassroots mission in the United Kingdom, her ministry moved to Albania where the Roman Catholic archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës invited the IBVM to work in the mission against human trafficking. This led to her co-founding Mary Ward Loreto, an NGO that addresses the root causes of trafficking, including poverty, and is involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of survivors of trafficking. 

Sr Imelda Poole currently serves as president of Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation (RENATE). RENATE has grown from a handful of religious sisters into a leading NGO combatting human trafficking in 31 European countries. It regularly convenes in different European nations to support work across borders in partnership with the many members of RENATE. Presently, Imelda Poole is co-founding the NGOs Mary Ward Loreto UK and Anti Modern Slavery Alliance.

 

Thursdays in Black Bible study series- Difficult Paths (Matthew 16:21–23)

The Rev. Dr Anders Göranzon is the general secretary of the Swedish Bible Society. He has been an ordained priest in the Church of Sweden since 1987 and has served in different capacities as a parish priest and as a teacher of homiletics at the Church of Sweden Institute for Pastoral Education. He also worked for seven and a half years in South Africa. He holds a PhD in Ecclesiology from the University of the Free State in South Africa and has been an honorary lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.