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.
A woman who works with youth in Kenya—young people who once turned to heinous crimes—had a group of young Christians, Jews, and Muslims weeping tears of compassion and joy as she recounted her tough upbringing and how she helps turn those youth from crime to community.
Peace is not a given these days, an international group of young Christians, Jews, and Muslims has heard from a woman whose father survived the Holocaust as she stressed the need to talk and listen to one another.
Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, Mission of Palestine to Switzerland; Ambassador Dr Omar Awadallah, assistant minister for United Nations and Specialized Organizations; and Doa Nofal, second secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 6 July to discuss the current situation in Palestine.
The Christians, Jews, and Muslims laughing and chatting together, learning about peace were not in an aspirational story; they are authentic, live young people having fun at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum.
Resources—including reflections, prayers, and more—are now available to help churches and all people of good will to observe the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel from 16-23 September 2023.
The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Muslim Council of Elders, and Rose Castle Foundation will host an Emerging Peacemakers Forum on 5-14 July for 50 young men and women working in civil society and international organizations, or for influential people in their societies, at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay called for an end to the Israeli military’s assault in Jenin. The WCC condemns the assault and calls for the cessation of all violence in the West Bank including that from Israeli settlers.
The World Council of Churches, the Muslim Council of Elders and Rose Castle Foundation are hosting an Emerging Peacemakers Forum for young men and women working in civil society and international organizations at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.
The World Council of Churches was among ecumenical organizations based in Africa and international partners that signed a 24 June joint statement on Sudan.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay sent warm greetings to the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Peace Train project, which works for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The 70-year-old War Armistice Agreement should be replaced with a peace treaty, urged the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee in a public statement. “In a time of renewed escalation of tensions and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, we recall that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Armistice Agreement which established a ceasefire, but not a formal end, to the Korean War,” reads the text. “We pray for peace and dialogue to end this dangerous cycle, and for denuclearization not only of the Korean Peninsula but of the entire world.”
H.E. Judge Mohammed Abdel-Salam, senior adviser of H.E. Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Elders and co-president of Religions for Peace, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on 5 June.
During the World Council of Churches (WCC) leadership delegation visit to Ukraine in May, an ecumenical prayer service was held in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on 12 May. The service, led by the WCC leadership, WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC moderator Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, with participation of members of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO), took place at St Andrew Orthodox Church in Bucha.
A webinar on 25 May, “Exploring the nexus between racism, xenophobia and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and African Union (AU) free movement protocol,” marked Africa Day by focusing on the potential of faith communities, especially Christians, in bridging the gaps that continue to frustrate the free movement of people and goods around the continent.
In an exclusive interview, a prominent figure in the field of peace and justice, the former general secretary of National Council of Churches in Korea and former executive secretary for the Christian Conference of Asia, Rev. Hong-Jung Lee, shared insights into his journey and experiences working towards peace and justice in the Korean Peninsula. Drawing on his extensive experience and involvement in various ecumenical organizations, he shed light on the importance of healing, reconciliation, and the role of churches and Christians in advancing peace in Korea.
Exclusive interview: World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shares details on a recent meeting with Patriarch Kirill, including topics discussed at the meeting, what the WCC contributed to the dialogue, and steps forward.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared joyful congratulations with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who was installed as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
World Council of Churches central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm delivered a lecture at the Kitzingen deanery, a regional church district near Würzburg, for the parishes of the deanery as well as for the public. The lecture, entitled “Just Peace through Military Force? Peace Ethical Considerations in Light of the War of Aggression against Ukraine,” was offered on 29 April
