Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches director of Public Witness and Diakonia, returned from Sudan with what he described as “a broken heart” after witnessing the plight of the people. Yet he also shared signs of hope that a pact for peace can end the suffering.
Mount Zion, located just outside the current walls of the Old City, via Zion Gate, is of great importance to Christians because this is the area of Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle (the traditional spot for remembering the Last Supper and washing of the Apostles’ feet), and where the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the event of Pentecost.
In an online conference organized by the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations on 5 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) was represented among inter-religious voices bringing their concerns and sense of solidarity in the lead-up to International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on 8 March.
As cases of femicide rise, religious leaders in Kenya are calling for the protection of women, as they unite to condemn the incidents now sending shockwaves across the East African nation.
Als religiöse Führungskräfte von rund 40 glaubensgeleiteten Organisationen aus der ganzen Welt während einer Zusammenkunft in Genf beschlossen, das individuelle Recht auf Asyl zu verteidigen, war dies ein Höhepunkt am Vorabend des Globalen Flüchtlingsforums, der weltweit größten Versammlung dieser Art. Die Teilnehmenden trafen sich am 12. Dezember auf einer eintägigen Veranstaltung beim Ökumenischen Rat der Kirchen (ÖRK) unter Vorsitz eines armenischen Erzbischofs und eines UN-Diplomatin, die früher einmal türkische Abgeordnete war.
The moment religious leaders from around 40 faith-based organisations worldwide agreed to keep defending the individual right to seek asylum during a gathering in Geneva marked a high point on the eve of the Global Refugee Forum, the world's biggest such international gathering.They met at a one-day event on 12 December at the World Council of Churches (WCC), chaired by an Armenian archbishop and a UN diplomat who was once a Turkish legislator.
A summit hosted by the COP28 Presidency in collaboration with the Muslim Council of Elders and the United Nations Environment Programme on 6-7 November has released an Abu Dhabi Interfaith Statement for COP28.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will participate in a pre-COP28 Faith Leaders Summit in the United Arab Emirates on 6-7 November.
An interfaith breakfast held in conjunction with the 78th session of the UN General Assembly brought into focus the urgent need for building partnerships for a one-community response to HIV.
Christian leaders in North Africa are expressing their grief, as the powerful Mediterranean Cyclone Daniel killed thousands of people in the province of Cyrenaica in eastern Libya.
With a series of consultations and training on issues related to HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is providing both expertise and inspiration through its Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme.
Vandalism targeting churches, cemeteries, and Christian properties in addition to physical and verbal abuse against Christian clergy have increased in the past months in the Holy Land, amid ongoing political tensions within Israeli society.
50 Jugendliche aus 24 Ländern haben eine Botschaft der Hoffnung an die Vertragsstaatenkonferenz der Klimarahmenkonvention der Vereinten Nationen (COP28) geschickt, die Ende 2023 in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate stattfindet. Überbracht wurde die Botschaft in einer außergewöhnlichen Feierstunde, die im Rahmen der zweiten Ausgabe des Emerging Peacemakers Forums im Ökumenischen Institut in Bossey, Schweiz, abgehalten wurde.
50 young people from 24 countries have sent a message of hope to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023. The message was delivered during a special ceremony during the second edition of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum, held at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland.
Anlässlich des Internationalen Tages der Vereinten Nationen für die biologische Vielfalt am 22. Mai hat der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen (ÖRK) eine hybride Konferenz über die Rolle von Religion und Zivilgesellschaft beim Schutz der Artenvielfalt mitorganisiert.
Observing the UN International Day for Biodiversity on 22 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) co-organized a hybrid conference on the role of religion and civil societies in biodiversity protection.
On the occasion of the upcoming World Interfaith Harmony Week 2023, which is observed annually from 1-7 February at the United Nations, my thought goes to the urgent call for biodiversity protection from the COP15 held in Montreal, from 7-19 December 2022.