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An international ecumenical delegation of church representatives will pay a solidarity visit to churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society movements in Haiti from 24 to 28 November. The team will visit the capital Port-au-Prince and areas affected by recent hurricanes.

In Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Africa, churches have played a major role in reconciliation between groups who had been in violent conflict with each other for decades. Two international ecumenical teams sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) will visit the three countries during the next two weeks.

One challenge for churches addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the fact that it takes place in a land that different religions consider holy. A conference in Bern will discuss the concept of the "Promised Land" and related theological issues with a view to help more churches become advocates for a just peace.

A common prayer and message for peace in Palestine and Israel is ready for use in about 100 countries. Churches in 17 countries, plus two international ecumenical organizations, are planning various education and advocacy activities. These and more are part of a global week of action led by the World Council of Churches (WCC), 4-10 June 2008. This year marks 60 years since the partition of Palestine and 41 years of occupation.

By Annegret Kapp (*)

"Migration is a fact of life. It is as much an instinct to survive as it is an inevitable consequence of globalization. We can neither turn our backs on it, nor control it," declared in a statement participants at a 15-16 April Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape in Beirut, Lebanon. "Migrants are not commodities, illegal aliens or mere victims, they are human beings."

"We express our sincere sorrow and sympathy to the families of those who were killed or injured in the shootings last week at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia on 10 March, joining his voice to those of the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. "An attack on a Jewish seminary has a profound impact on all people of faith. The World Council of Churches strongly condemns this attack."

Absolute condemnation for the "deadly attacks on civilians by the Israeli military on Gaza and by militants firing rockets from Gaza" was expressed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia today. Claiming that "the path to peace stands open but empty," he called for an end of the "incessant violations of life and of human rights" and of the "blockade that has systematically deprived Gazans of almost all their rights."

As 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it will be a "fantastic opportunity" for churches to re-connect with the endeavour of protecting and promoting human dignity, participants at an international ecumenical consultation were told.

The United Nations and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate at a meeting between the general secretaries of both organizations held on 29 October at the UN headquarters in New York.

Local churches in Palestine/Israel are looking to the whole fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to play a stronger role in supporting local churches' struggles for a just peace there. This is the main finding of a delegation led by the Council's general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia that visited Palestine/Israel from 21 to 26 June. A new advocacy forum launched prior to the visit, and ecumenical accompaniment are high on the churches' list of actions in pursuit of this goal.

Doing justice to the Palestinian people would bring about security for Israel, while delaying the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories feeds extremism and terrorism, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah told participants at a church conference for peace in Middle East yesterday.

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