Search results

Praying with Jerusalem's Christians, marching to the White House or sponsoring one of 14,609 olive trees are among the activities taking place in "International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel" this week. The initiative is organized by member churches and related organizations of the World Council of Churches to mark 40 years of the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. It involves public activities and messages to governments in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

To highlight the urgency of peace in Palestine and Israel after 40 years of occupation, the World Council of Churches (WCC), member churches and related organizations are organizing a week of prayers, seminars and advocacy to mark this June's anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The goal of the week is to raise awareness in churches and civil society and to impress upon governments the need for new efforts to end the conflict and negotiate a just settlement.

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

"Together for Europe 2007", an ecumenical gathering to be held 10-12 May in Stuttgart, Germany, has been hailed with "great joy" by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). In a message to participants, Kobia expressed his hope that their experience will enable Christians "to continue growing together in a spirituality of unity and love".

On the first leg of a visit to Switzerland, the Vatican, South Africa and Kenya, a twelve-person national delegation from the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. is visiting the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, just outside Geneva.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is launching an international, inter-church advocacy initiative for peace in Israel and Palestine - the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum - at a conference June 17-21, 2007, in Jordan.

The need for churches to be vigilant about nuclear proliferation has been stressed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee in a statement adopted at its 27 February - 2 March meeting in Bossey, near Geneva.

By Anto Akkara (*)

Photo essay available

By Juan Michel (*)

"Mozambique is owed an ecological debt by those who constructed and have made profits from the dams of the Zambezi River, that is to say, the Portuguese government and the South African company Eskom," Malawian economist Francis Ng'ambi told participants at a World Council of Churches (WCC) workshop on ecological debt at the 20-25 January World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak (Mk 7:37) - the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2007 calls Christians to express their growing unity both by "breaking the silence" and by joining together in responding to human suffering.

By Juan Michel (*)