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Khan Al Ahmar Bedouin community strives for justice amid grave daily challenges

Ecumenical Accompaniers from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) report that residents, international non-governmental organizations, media, politicians have joined local Palestinian and Israeli peace activists in nonviolence resistance, protesting demolition actions by Israeli forces in the Khan al Ahmar Bedouin community.

Wadi Qana and the politics of nature

Although the Israeli authorities declared Wadi Qana as a nature reserve as far back as 1983, the decision to turn it into an Israeli leisure and recreation area was only taken in 2006.
This did not fail to impact Palestinian landowners. who are not allowed to dig new wells to water the fields or to repair existing facilities, whereas the Israeli settlements on the hilltops get their water from deep wells on the valley floor, with water pumped uphill through thick pipes.

Wadi Qana: Occupation's impact on a peaceful land

Although idyllic Wadi Qana is barely 50 km from the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv as the crow flies, the gap is great.

Rizeq, our local contact in the nearby village of Deir Istiya, leases grazing land there. Together with three friends, he owns a small herd of goats. The herd sleeps in a large cave that serves as a shed, with an entrance enclosed by walls and gates. Rizeq and his partners built a small hut nearby out of field stones for storing tools and spending the night.

Arusha offers vibrant and colourful worship life

Tanzanian dance, vibrant choral performances, and treasured liturgy: the African worship experience in Tanzania has something for everyone searching for meaning. With a spirit of hospitality, the Christ Church Cathedral of Mount Kilimanjaro Diocese in Arusha celebrated mass on 11 March, inviting fellow Christians from around the world who were participating in the WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism.

Ecumenical accompaniers share observations with EU

As an “ecumenical accompanier,” Prokop’s role description might include: “walks children to school,” and “shares what he sees.” In many communities, these tasks are daily - even mundane - parts of life. But for Prokop, who has served with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI), walking children to school was anything but humdrum.

Who feeds the cities?

With mega cities "mushrooming" all over the world, one must wonder how they can be supplied with enough, and healthy, food. Ideas range from an increased rural production to urban gardening and technically complex solutions like vertical indoor gardens. As Christians, we are called to side with people who live in poverty and who are marginalized. For me and my colleagues at Bread for the World, it is important to ask: What does all this mean for the rural population and for small scale farmers?

Churches call for urgent action for Cremisan Valley

As the statements calling for justice in Cremisan Valley fail to work, churches urged the international community at the 36th Session of UN Human Rights Council for action regarding the occupied territories between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Muslims and Christians pray together for just peace in Al Aqsa Mosque

Muslims and Christians were gathered together in Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on 27th July. Side-by-side for just peace in the Holy Land. After almost two weeks of tension, violence and killings in Jerusalem. Meetings between church leaders and the Islamic leadership inside the mosque plaza were cheered by the community even amid wafts of tear gas and the rumble of explosives from time to time. Catholic Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, who was supposed to be heading the Christian delegation, was denied entry through Lions’ Gate and, instead, sent his message.

The five stages of grief in Palestine and Israel

When it comes to the stance of churches towards the so-called conflict between Israel and Palestine, it is useful to understand it as a process of grief. The theory of the five stages of grief from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross is a creative way to describe the “dying” and “mourning” process of the churches and international community. The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 was seen by the Western world as a sign of justice for the suffering Jewish people after the Holocaust and centuries of persecution of Jews in Europe. Two elements played a major role in this initial excitement: the historical guilt of Europeans and the fulfilment of biblical prophecies related with the reestablishment of Israel.

Open letter from The National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine

Open letter from The National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine to the World Council of Churches and the ecumenical movement.

The WCC leadership will bring the letter to the next meeting of its Executive Committee in November 2017 in Amman, Jordan. The WCC also invited its members churches and partners worldwide to read and share the letter as a local voice from today’s Palestine.

Ecumenical movement

Statement on 50 Years of Occupation

This year, 2017, marks several historic anniversaries of great importance to the history and development of the situation in Israel and Palestine and to the ecumenical community’s response to this situation – including 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, 50 years since the Six Day War of 1967, and 10 years since the 2007 WCC International Peace Conference "Churches together for Peace and Justice in the Middle East" in Amman, Jordan.

Executive committee

Pentecost is time to pray for unity and just peace

The fellowship and unity that Jesus’ disciples once experienced praying together during a time of fear in Jerusalem at Pentecost “spelled a new beginning” for the mission of the Church, the general secretary of the WCC has reminded Christians worldwide from the Holy Land.

G7 must address famine

Not nearly enough is being done to save the lives of the 20 million people who face famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria. Among them are 1.4 million children, who are at imminent risk of death unless aid reaches them immediately.