On a recent morning walk right before dawn, I could still see the stars. I saw the Polaris Star, or North Star, which is the brightest star in its constellation. It reminded me of the Underground Railroad and the network of people in North America who led Black people from southern bondage to northern freedom by following the North Star.
Conflict and trauma are realities we learn about daily. For some of us, we learn of conflict and trauma through news stories, or personal anecdotes from people close to us. For others, it is a lived and daily reality: conflict and trauma are the air we breathe.
Thursdays in Black Bible Study "Exorcising the Silence in David’s House" on 2 Samuel 11-13 and Psalm 51, prepared by Rev. Dr Karen Georgia A. Thompson and Rev. Nicqi Ashwood.
After the recent war and its impact on the whole of Armenia and particularly in the region of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, some pilgrims from the fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) visited Armenia from 27 May to June 1.
Since Russia’s military offensive began in Ukraine on 24 February, it is estimated that more than 18 million people (41% of the population of Ukraine) have been impacted by the conflict. Nearly one in four Ukrainians has been forced out of their homes, with nearly 6.5 million people being internally displaced, and more than 3.5 million people have fled the country.
The second reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2022 of the WCC’s Ecumenical Water Network is written by Nicole Ashwood (Nicqi).* In the following reflection , which was written around the International Women’s Day, she reflects how the women in the story of Exodus were deprived of water and how Moses came up to their defense and provided them and their flock with water. Then she highlights how developed countries in Europe, including Switzerland fares in getting access to clean water and how it affects the health, wellbeing and dignity of the people, particularly, women, everywhere.
“Conflict-related sexual violence” is understood as “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict.”
Will the COVID-19 pandemic be remembered as a time when everything changed, as a unique moment in history that all can personally relate to? It has already changed a lot for many – while many people have been hit very hard, almost all have faced totally new situations, having to adopt new daily routines, think differently.
Without peace, there is no justice. Too often, we pursue justice at the expense of peace, and peace at the expense of justice. To conceive peace apart from justice is to compromise the hope that “justice and peace shall embrace” (Ps 85:10). When justice and peace are lacking, or set in opposition, we need to reform our ways. Let us rise, therefore, and work together for peace and justice.
Africa space is a religious space, a combination of 54 states from North to East, West to South. Differences in culture and religious persuasion exist, but a unity of purpose is always on peace and development. What is not negotiable is the strong believe in God, the piousness of Africans. That's why we boldly and unanimously walk on the common ground to say this weapon of mass destruction remaining unbanned is totally unacceptable.
