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H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian is vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian stands up for Thursdays in Black: “Just go on, do—and we can do it together”

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian is vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee.

23 November 2023

Rev. Merlyn Hyde Riley: “Gender-based violence denies human dignity”

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Merlyn Hyde Riley is general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union, and vice moderator of the WCC central committee.

19 October 2023

Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm: Thursdays in Black “a witness to Jesus Christ”

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm is moderator of the World Council of Churches.

12 October 2023

WCC general secretary: with Thursdays in Black, "a simple step can be transformational”

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay is general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

05 October 2023

Report

Report of the General Secretary to the WCC Central Committee, June 2023

Report of the WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay to the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, 21 - 27 June 2023.

21 June 2023

Central Committee

Patrick Watt, chief executive officer for Christian Aid.

Thursdays in Black ambassador Patrick Watt: “We aim to bring about wider societal change”

The World Council of Churches welcomes new Thursdays in Black ambassadors!

Our ongoing 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. Patrick Watt is chief executive officer for Christian Aid.

15 June 2023

FinnChurchAid-visits-WCC-by-IvarsKupcis-01May2023-08.jpg

Thursdays in Black ambassador Tomi Järvinen: “Faith is about belief but it’s also about action”

The World Council of Churches welcomes new Thursdays in Black ambassadors!

Our ongoing 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. Tomi Jarvinen is executive director of Finn Church Aid.

08 June 2023

Ecumenical theology at chapel, classroom, and office: Odair Pedroso Mateus reflects on serving the WCC

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus began to teach at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in 2004 and joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2007. Most recently he served as WCC interim deputy general secretary and Faith and Order director. Below, he reflects on his fondest memories, accomplishments, and hopes.

08 February 2023

Rev. Dr David Emmanuel Goatley: “Ecumenism and global engagement are essential to who I am”

Rev. Dr David Emmanuel Goatley is associate dean for Academic and Vocational Formation; Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr research professor of Theology and Christian Ministry; and director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke University Divinity School. He will serve as the next president of Fuller Theological Seminary. Below, he reflects on the path ahead and the inspiration he draws from his work with the World Council of Churches (WCC).

29 September 2022

Joint Message of Thursdays in Black Ambassadors on Gender-based Violence, Sexual Abuse and Faith Communities

In a joint message on gender-based violence, sexual abuse, and faith communities, 26 World Council of Churches (WCC) Thursdays in Black ambassadors lament that the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence continues unabated—and call on faith communities to prevent such violence in their own spaces.

11 August 2022

WCC Programmes

Tapestry artist Janine Marja Schneider sews regret, hope, and love into “Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance”

As Brazilian artist Janine Marja Schneider pieces together the “Waterfall of Solidarity and Resistance” tapestry, she brings mixed emotions to her endeavors. On one hand, she’s inspired to bring the stories of women from around the world to life on the colorful blocks that cascade downward like liquid. On the other hand, with every stitch, she more deeply absorbs what brings these women together: it’s what they’ve survived.

04 August 2022

Marcelo D. Leites: to reach gender justice, we must “transform our own ways of relating”

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. Marcelo D. Leites is general secretary of the World Student Christian Federation.

17 March 2022

Moderator of Central Committee

Moderator’s video message to the Central Committee

Script of the video message by the WCC central committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom to the WCC central committee meeting, 9 February 2022.

09 February 2022

Moderator of Central Committee

Women of Faith: Protagonists of Human Dignity, Peace and Healers of Creation

Moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee Dr Agnes Abuom shared a message with the Conference of the World Council of Religious Leaders on Faith and Diplomacy: Generations in Dialogue, being held 4-7 October in Lindau, Germany.

05 October 2021

Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu, president of the Methodist Church of Togo, Photo: Methodist Church of Togo

Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu: “God heals, but people must also be treated”

Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu, president of the Methodist Church of Togo, is also chair of the International Reference Group of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme (WCC-EHAIA). Involved with WCC-EHAIA from the beginning, he reflects below on what it’s like to be, as he describes, “one of the veterans of the struggle.”

02 September 2021

Faith Communique 30th June 2021 - People of Faith are Allies to Generation Equality

As religious actors and networks of faith-based organisations, who work for the achievement of the Beijing Platform for Action and support the Action Coalitions, we welcome the Generation Equality Forum. We take this opportunity to speak out about our role and recommendations to the UN and its Member States, to the leaders and fellow commitment-makers of the Action Coalitions and the WPS-Humanitarian Action Compact, and to our civil society colleagues.

01 July 2021

Ecumenical movement

Casey Harden: “Name gender-based violence for what it is”

15 April 2021

Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, CEO of Christian Aid

Amanda Khozi Mukwashi: “We need to shine a spotlight” on roots of gender-based violence

08 April 2021