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Students at the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Institute at Bossey marked Thursdays in Black on 10 October, together with a group of visitors from Sweden.

Our series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors highlights those who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Alison Judd is the world president for the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women.

Our series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors highlights those who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence.

Bishop Rosemarie Wenner is Geneva secretary of the World Methodist Council.

After Wednesday evening’s attack by a gunman on a synagogue in the German city of Halle as dozens of worshippers observed Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of fasting and atonement that follows Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish new year, World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said “the assault seems to be a brazen display of racist anti-Semitism that, sadly, is on the rise in Europe and elsewhere.”

Rev. Claudia Bandixen is the recently retired director of Mission 21, an international mission organisation headquartered in Basel.

The Sant'Egidio community began a “Peace with no borders” conference in Madrid on 15 September, gathering religious leaders from all over the world to address each other on migration, the environment, dialogue and inclusion.

Maltese creators of the newly available materials for the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have focused on hospitality to the stranger as their theme, evoking the shipwrecked Apostle Paul’s statement that “They showed us unusual kindness” there (Acts 28:2).

Erhard Hermansen is general secretary of the Christian Council of Norway, which has been collaborating closely with churches in Sudan and South Sudan for nearly 30 years. Hermansen attended the South Sudan Council of Churches 2019 Assembly in late August, and shares his reflections and hopes below.

Leaders from organizations, communities and churches are committing to be “Thursdays in Black Ambassadors” to inspire action against gender-based violence and injustice.

In a declaration on 23 August, the 10th World Assembly of Religions for Peace called for caring for our common future and advancing shared well-being. The assembly, held in Lindau, Germany, drew 900 people from 125 countries.

Young people are trailblazers, pioneers, visionaries and leaders who have the potential to create a positive, sustainable legacy for future generations on a global scale.
On 12 August, International Youth Day, youth led a TED-style talk and discussion in Geneva, with five young speakers from different parts of the world, four virtually and one live. The stories and experiences shared connected them to theme “Transforming Education,” while inspiring the audience for a call to action.

What might be termed “an authentic interreligious encounter” is also, more simply put, a question of what it means to belong. Eleven students at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Bossey Ecumenical Institute deeply explored this question as they completed a Certificate in Advanced Studies in Interreligious Studies course.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, leader of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, has received an International Religious Freedom Award from the US Department of State. The awards “honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world” and will be presented on 17 July in Washington, D.C.

Invoking the dignity of all persons as created in God’s image, and the classic notion of Christian freedom, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit urged acknowledgment of Christianity’s ambiguous role in the history of slavery and the need to address the underlying religious and cultural factors in slavery today.

Stories, music, and many other expressions of solidarity marked a lively observation of Thursdays in Black at the German Protestant church festival. From religious leaders to passersby, many offered words of support and encouragement for the campaign for a world free from rape and violence.

On 20 June at Kirchentag, the thriving Protestant church festival in Germany, #ThursdaysInBlack, the global campaign for a world without rape and violence, will take the stage during a noon presentation.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee just concluded its first meeting of the year. The committee reviewed and received the 2018 reports and adopted the 2018 financial report. The Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace with Latin America and the Caribbean; the 70th anniversary of the WCC; the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism; and the visit of Pope Francis, together with many ongoing activities, made 2018 an extraordinary year in the life of the WCC – one that affirmed the vitality and visibility of the fellowship of churches.

The WCC “Working Together” meeting, including an “Ecumenical Market Place,” took place on 7 and 8 May at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.

After a large fire broke out on 15 April at the Notre Dame cathedral, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed shock over the damage to one the most famous landmarks in Paris, and the seat of the archbishop of Paris.