Search results

Rev. Serge Fornerod is a former World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, a member of the Green Village steering committee, and the new president of the FAP Foundation for Reformed Churches. He recently published a book, “Les Fornerod, une famille au service de l’Église” that details the intersection of his personal faith and professional life^[1].

Dr Masiiwa Ragies Gunda, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive on Overcoming Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Xenophobia, recently attended and spoke at a Church and Peace Conference in the Netherlands. Exploring the theme “Overcoming Racism in the Church,” the conference drew nearly 100 people from 15 European and non-European countries. 

Rev. Terri Hord Owens, the general minister and president of the Christian Church, the Disciples of Christ (USA and Canada), says the World Council of Churches (WCC) must offer an environment where people can talk on all issues, even if it is uncomfortable or "messy" to do so.

Rev. Dr Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, helped convene the team of authors for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials. Below, he reflects on the challenges and hopes the team brought to the table as they composed the text.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly elected eight new presidents on 5 September. Below, Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, WCC president from North America, reflects on the new role, and a vision for how insights gained at the assembly will carry forward.

The Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe - CCME released a statement that speaks about the response of Europe to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. The statement addresses the concerns of discriminatory treatment of non-Ukrainians and minority ethnic people in this context and the more general question that the generosity shown in recent weeks often has not been extended to those fleeing from elsewhere.

Below, Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary at the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, reflects on why church leaders requested such a statement, and what lies at the heart of some of their different inputs.

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim deputy general secretary and director of Faith and Order, shares his insights on the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, to be held 18-25 January. Churches across the globe will reflect on the hope and joy in Matthew 2:2, “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him.” The Middle East Council of Churches, based in Beirut, Lebanon, was the convener for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022 drafting group.

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.

Racism and discrimination are sins, says Dr Agnes Abuom, yet in the third decade of the 21st century, the world must change how it addresses them, including having all at the table to solve them. That way, they can help rescue humanity and save God's creation, but that includes engaging with perpetrators.

Rev. Romi Bencke, general secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil, believes that being an ecumenical leader means having the courage to ask the most difficult questions even in a polarized society.

WCC News met online with Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, and she offers reflections on the impact of COVID-19, what gives her hope, and the future of the ecumenical movement.