Pastor Joachim Leberecht, from Herzogenrath/Germany, has won the international Menno Simons Sermon Award from the Center for Peace Church Theology (University of Hamburg) together with the Mennonite congregation Hamburg-Altona.
After more than 30 years as a pastor, ecumenist and church leader, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit firmly believes that the church can change the world. As general secretary of the WCC for the past ten years, he has witnessed what Jesus Christ means to people of faith around the globe. By the end of this month he heads home to lead the Church of Norway as presiding bishop of its bishop’s conference.
In a sermon at the Trinity Church in Oslo, Norway on 9 December, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected on peacemakers: those who create trust and foster good relations, those who try to bring out the best in us, those who attempt to solve conflicts.
He earned the title “Green Patriarch” as a religious leader addressing alarming environmental issues over at least two decades. In 2008, Time Magazine named His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as one of 100 Most Influential People in the World, for “defining environmentalism as spiritual responsibility”.
Christians need a "spirituality of resistance" to face oppression, violence and experiences of defeat, the WCC general secretary said in an address at Germany’s biggest Protestant gathering.
Challenged by Christians from Brazil to strive for greater respect for religious and cultural diversity, churches are reflecting together on the gospel of John as they celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.