Search results

A reflection originally shared at the "Working Together" meeting between the World Council of Churches and specialized ministries, convened 3-4 May in Bossey, Switzerland. 

The HIV response has more than forty years now; timely and accessible medications are effective and ensure long healthy lives for people living with HIV. We have more prevention tools and strategies, we know much more about the virus, there are many organizations and websites with dedicated information; yet, HIV stigma persists in deep thinking, having serious consequences for the 38 million people living with HIV across the world.

As many celebrate Valentine’s Day, the WCC invited reflections on the power of love. Below are four reflections, all from people somehow involved in or leading, in their local contexts, a Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence. They share the joys, the pain, and the ever-changing perspective on what love is—and what it can become.

I see five imperatives for theologians (prophetic, pastoral and priestly), to occupy the social media space, which is currently dominated by politics (politricks), business (including profiteers), entertainers (artists, sports, etc.), economists, lawyers, etc.

Nigerians, like the rest of the world, have had to battle the threat of COVID-19 since the beginning of the year 2020.

We believe that the global prayer campaign for the Korean Peninsula will be a key of peace to open the gate to cultivate forgiveness and reconciliation, a fountain of peace to revitalize a global ecumenical solidarity, and a milestone of peace to end the war on the Korean Peninsula after 70 years.

Ethics is about what one ought to do. Many secular and non-secular ethical theories and principles exist to give us guidance. Which ethical theories and principles are employed to understand and respond to the points of impact of COVID-19 on disabled people?

How humans relate to nature has been a constant theme for many centuries now. Many throughout the world, especially indigenous peoples, have long respected, even honoured the relationship between nature and human beings. In recent years, various movements have risen, focused especially on the urgency of the climate change crises.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the political, economic and social life of a troubled world, already suffering by the financial crisis and imposed neoliberal austerity measures. With this current crisis, a strange unity has risen; a unity in fear of illness and death, anxious uncertainty for the future and collective mourning for the tens of thousands of deaths.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in physical distancing, it has not made us any less of a global community. On the contrary, these troubling times have revealed just how connected we truly are. We have all been forced to find creative ways of staying connected whether it is from the smallest unit of a nuclear family to large transnational companies.

Bishop Emeritus Munib Younan from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land:

It is Easter 2020.

This is the commemoration of both the crucifixion and the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the source of our liberation but also of our praise and joy, especially in this time of the coronavirus crisis.

'I think it is the same for us now. It is enough that we are reflecting and praying, it is enough that we are listening to the voice of God, and the God of love will always be with us in our homes, in our churches, and our workplaces. The Risen Christ will bring us peace in our homes, and grants us hope in a hopeless situation, bringing us life and life abundantly.'

While reading Psalm 46, I noticed a very interesting introduction to the poem. It read, ‘To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.’ (NRSV) My curiosity peaked. An alamoth could be a soprano instrument or a direct reference to young female singers, (that is – virgins). Intrigued, I read a few commentaries and the preceding psalm, which also references alamoth, albeit in the context of a wedding feast. I wondered whether the two poems, ascribed to the same family of writers and maintaining that peculiar introit, could once have been one psalm.

Just a click away –Seoul, Brisbane, Juba, Karlsruhe, Nairobi, New York and Jerusalem. We live in a time when communication and information are at our fingertips. Whether it is via smartphones, tablets or laptops, different news sources can be accessed in seconds, the world is moving into our hands - just a click away. The rapid increase in news consumption and production, however, comes at a serious cost — media and communication illiteracy. I´m the first defender of the freedom of expression and freedom of media.

"Sharing is caring" I hear my little granddaughter say. "Sharing is caring" children sing in nursery schools and on playgrounds. #SharingIsCaring in hundreds of thousands of tweets and social media posts. Sharing toys, sharing food, sharing joy, sharing love, sharing stories, sharing pain, sharing our lives, from our house to yours. “Sharing is caring” – it seems so simple, so logical.

For many years most people thought of climate change as an ecological issue. It was something for environmentalists to deal with. The core issues for the future were economic growth, trade and industrial development. That should lift people out of poverty and create a welfare society.

I love riding subways, well, all trains for that matter. I am a people watcher. Sometimes I just stare off as station-wall signs speed by in a blur. This time, however, something was different.

Creating art or poems is a way to reimagine the future, to build bridges and foster understanding, to develop empathy, to make friends, to express feelings, to build self-confidence, to learn how to be flexible and open-minded, to be exposed to different ideas and learn to listen to the views of others, to work collaboratively. These are all attributes that can help to promote peace.

Although continents may remain apart “technology has made the world a global village.” In the real sense of the word, it’s the interconnection of technology that makes it a village. The World Council of Churches is not ignorant to this fact and hence maintains a vibrant social media presence. The effectiveness of these channels has come to light at the ongoing Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Arusha, Tanzania.

Never has humanity lived in a more connected, yet disconnected time! Connected by the endless notifications on our smartphones – alerting us to all the latest news and tidings in our social media, yet not connected deeply enough to respond substantially to people's suffering. Among the many tragedies are the human-made famines in South Sudan, Somalia, North-Eastern Nigeria and in Yemen.