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WCC to Sudan: “we lift you, your churches, your families, and communities up before our merciful and loving God”

In a pastoral letter to churches and ecumenical partners in Sudan, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended prayers for peace for the suffering of the people.

“We have received with sadness and alarm recent reports of the escalating impacts of the current conflict and insecurity on the churches and religious communities of the country,” Pillay wrote.

17 May 2023
Interview
Cycling for Hope

Cycling for peace: Andreas has bicycled 847km - and “It’s becoming a trip full of gifts"

Andreas is currently in the midst of a “Cycling for peace” initiative in which he is bicycling from Linz, Austria, to Hamburg, Germany—a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers! Part of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, Andreas is also part of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, which is helping to support his trip.

As he continues on his way, he took time to share some reflections.

12 May 2023
News
Members of the National Jewish-Christian Dialogue

National Jewish-Christian Dialogue meets in New York, continues consideration of reparations

The National Jewish-Christian Dialogue, co-sponsored by the National Council of Churches (USA) and the National Council of Synagogues, met 19-20 April in New York City. The dialogue continued its in-depth discussion of reparations and national healing, following previous remote sessions on the broad topic of reparations and specific efforts to consider reparations by the cities of Evanston, Illinois, and Providence, Rhode Island.

01 May 2023
Feature story
two hands mark a piece of cloth with paint of different colors

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity writing team: “There’s nothing wrong with how God is in our lives”

Each year, ecumenical partners in a different region are asked to prepare the materials for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year, Christians from Minnesota developed the resources with input from an international group representing the Roman Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission. The resources include an ecumenical opening prayer service, biblical reflections and prayers for eight days, and other elements of worship. 

20 April 2023
Feature story
Collage of three images, showing Muslim, Jewish, and Christian people in Jerusalem.

“All groups should be allowed to come and worship”

This year at Easter, the WCC is highlighting current realities and challenges related to religious holidays in the Holy Land, joining with local communities in action and prayer; to ensure that freedom of worship is protected in a land so worthy of justice, peace, and dignity. The reflections and voices presented here are meant to welcome the reader into the details of everyday lives—lives met with challenges that often turn into obstacles impeding everything from simple family celebrations to livelihoods, to freedom of religion and movement. Together, these voices also raise the hope for a less divided and conflict-ridden Jerusalem, and a Holy Land in which people of all faiths enjoy an equal measure of freedom of movement and religion.

14 April 2023
Feature story
Stone with crack pictured in front of woman placing her hands prayerfully on the stone.

“How is it that my family could be separated on Easter?”

This year at Easter, the WCC is highlighting current realities and challenges related to religious holidays in the Holy Land, joining with local communities in action and prayer; to ensure that freedom of worship is protected in a land so worthy of justice, peace, and dignity. The reflections and voices presented here are meant to welcome the reader into the details of everyday lives—lives met with challenges that often turn into obstacles impeding everything from simple family celebrations to livelihoods, to freedom of religion and movement. Together, these voices also raise the hope for a less divided and conflict-ridden Jerusalem, and a Holy Land in which people of all faiths enjoy an equal measure of freedom of movement and religion.

12 April 2023
Feature story
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"I could hardly believe I was in Jerusalem"

This year at Easter, the WCC is highlighting current realities and challenges related to religious holidays in the Holy Land, joining with local communities in action and prayer; to ensure that freedom of worship is protected in a land so worthy of justice, peace, and dignity. The reflections and voices presented here are meant to welcome the reader into the details of everyday lives—lives met with challenges that often turn into obstacles impeding everything from simple family celebrations to livelihoods, to freedom of religion and movement. Together, these voices also raise the hope for a less divided and conflict-ridden Jerusalem, and a Holy Land in which people of all faiths enjoy an equal measure of freedom of movement and religion.

11 April 2023
Blog post
Coffee being tested in the RAOS laboratory. RAOS, Cooperativa Regional Mixta de Agricultores Orgánicos de la Sierra, is a Fairtrade-certified coffee producer based in Marcala, La Paz, Honduras.

True fasting as actions towards justice

Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of injustice,

to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,

and not to hide yourself from your own kin? - Isaiah 58:6-7

To understand Isaiah’s message about true and false fasting, let’s take a minute to remind ourselves of the role and intention of fasting in the context of our Christian faith. This is vital, as fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines in the Christian faith that is no longer practised universally.

07 April 2023