Search results

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.

Nacido en Nazaret (Galilea), el Rev. Dr. Saïd Ailabouni se mudó a los Estados Unidos a la edad de 19 años para estudiar medicina, pero estaba tan enojado con Dios que acabó estudiando teología y convirtiéndose en un pastor luterano. Actualmente, dirige el departamento para Oriente Medio y Europa de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en Estados Unidos. Desde que dejó su ciudad natal hace 50 años, visita a su familia palestina regularmente. Al acercarse la Semana Mundial por la Paz en Palestina e Israel, el Rev. Dr. Ailabouni aceptó compartir algunas de las reflexiones que ha realizado durante su vida con el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, leader of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, has received an International Religious Freedom Award from the US Department of State. The awards “honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world” and will be presented on 17 July in Washington, D.C.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, responsable du Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process (RTCYPP, Suivi religieux du processus de paix à Chypre), a reçu le Prix international de la liberté de la presse du Département d’État américain. Le prix «honore les défenseurs et défenseuses extraordinaires de la liberté religieuse dans le monde entier» et sera remis le 17 juillet à Washington, D.C.

After a visit to Israel and Palestine on 21 February through 1 March, a delegation of South African and African-American church leaders, released a Group Pilgrimage Statement on Israel and Palestine.

A little more than a year ago Rev. Stacey Duensing went on a trip to Israel-Palestine together with her denomination, the Reformed Church in America. She returned home to the United States with a different perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A perspective she wanted to share with a broader public audience.

When the WCC joined the Blue Communities Project on 25 October, water and eco-justice advocates from around the world offered congratulations, while at the same time urging WCC member churches to join the quest for global water and sanitation rights.

A delegation from the WCC attended the 12th World Social Forum in Montreal, Canada, which concluded on 14 August. More than 30,000 participants from around the world gathered to discuss global issues based on their local experiences, network with others working on similar problems, and create new joint initiatives advancing a progressive path forward.

Una delegación del CMI, asistió al 12º Foro Social Mundial en Montreal (Canadá), que finalizó el 14 de agosto. Más de 30 000 participantes de todo el mundo se reunieron para discutir sobre asuntos mundiales basándose en sus experiencias locales, relacionarse con personas que afrontan dificultades similares, y crear nuevas iniciativas conjuntas para seguir avanzando.

Land rights, equity in development resource flows and life-enhancing epistemologies were among the themes emphasized by faith-based organizations at the World Social Forum in Montreal, Canada on 9-14 August.

Encouragement, inspiration and storytelling animated the plenary discussion of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

Las palabras de apoyo, la inspiración y la narración de historias animaron el debate plenario sobre la peregrinación de justicia y paz del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI).

“We had heard that racism continues to be an issue in the United States,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee. “But we did not expect to find it so deep, so wide and so pervasive.”

“Racism remains an issue that divides society and even families,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in a Washington DC workshop on “the theological basis for lifting the voice of the marginalized.” She noted that these dramatically relevant words were not her own, but are drawn from a WCC study on race undertaken in the 1990s.

The Racial Justice Accompaniment Visit to the USA is a continuation of the WCC’s long history of racial justice work. As part of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, the WCC wishes to listen to and express support for people and churches in the USA, and to encourage the efforts of member churches and ecumenical partners in the US, as well as other justice-seeking movements on these issues.

When Dr Ulysses Burley III visited Palestine and Israel six months ago, he came away with an even stronger determination to work for social justice, wherever and however he can.

Arrests of Palestinian civilians and vandalism of their homes at the hands of Israeli military forces is not a new phenomenon in the West Bank. Natalie Maxson, a volunteer for the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel speaks from her experience of meeting a family in Azzun faced with a similar situation.