The Christians, Jews, and Muslims laughing and chatting together, learning about peace were not in an aspirational story; they are authentic, live young people having fun at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum.
Racism has been identified as one of the most significant challenges facing the North American region in the United States and Canada, a World Council of Churches (WCC) meeting has heard.
Children who gathered prior and during the New Global Financial Pact, held 22-23 June in Paris, delivered a clear message to President Macron and world leaders: the existing colonial economic model must be replaced with one that prioritizes humanity over profits.
“The Pacific is a large ocean region, and we see the smallness of our region as a strength not a weakness. Amidst the vulnerability our islands experience to climate change, geopolitical and neo-colonialism, we affirm our resilience as a gift of God, rooted in our Indigenous wisdom and celebrated as spirituality of abundance and hospitality,” said Iemaima Vaai, representing the Methodist Church of Samoa and youth advisor to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in her shared message to the central committee, on behalf of the Pacific region.
The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Muslim Council of Elders, and Rose Castle Foundation will host an Emerging Peacemakers Forum on 5-14 July for 50 young men and women working in civil society and international organizations, or for influential people in their societies, at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.
The World Council of Churches, the Muslim Council of Elders and Rose Castle Foundation are hosting an Emerging Peacemakers Forum for young men and women working in civil society and international organizations at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.
When Rev. Rita Famos became involved in the youth programmes of her local congregation in Bern, Switzerland, back in the early 1980s, a lifelong commitment to the Reformed Church and the ecumenical movement started to evolve.
From 2020 to 2021, more than 50 million people were displaced due to weather events and faced risks of trafficking and even death as well as discrimination based on race and gender. This finding emerged from the report of Ian Fry, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, to the 53rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva from 19 June-14 July.
“We carry the cross with dignity and hope.” These were the opening words as Middle East Christians stood to bear witness at the World Council of Churches central committee meeting, to the burdens and challenges – but also the resilience – that they live on a daily basis in the land where Christianity was born.
By far the largest region, both in terms of population and geographical size, the Asia region faces an array of pertinent issues for the churches to address and engage in. Stretching from Iran in the west to Japan in the east and from Nepal in the north to New Zealand in the south, the region encompasses a wide range of cultures and religions.
Hope and commitment were central in the report that the Africa region presented to the WCC central committee on 26 June. As is customary during these meetings, central committee members, advisors, stewards, and staff from each region met for prayer and sharing and to identify issues affecting the life and witness of the churches in their region.
At any big World Council of Churches (WCC) meeting, stewards work like the oil in a machine, helpings gathering such as the central committee to function seamlessly, but it is also a learning experience for the young ecumenical workers.
The World Council of Churches (WCC), in its contribution to the seminar “Social justice in the world of work and beyond: from common values to common engagement and action,” reflected on the dignity of work, justice and solidarity in the workplace.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, in its business proceedings, appointed 17 youth advisors; elected leaders for its commissions; and revised bylaws for the new WCC Commission on Climate Change and Sustainable Development.
The World Council of Churches central committee approved the applications of four churches for an interim period of participation in the work of the WCC and for interaction with the fellowship of member churches.
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) celebrated its 75 anniversary, the voices of young people rang out with hope, joy—and some pointed messages for their ecumenical family.
“Hay algo que siempre les digo a jóvenes como ustedes cuando empiezan el programa de stewards – sean muy cuidadosos porque la exposición al virus ecuménico es alucinante y comienzan a pensar sobre la iglesia de una forma muy diferente– y eso no es malo”, señaló el Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, secretario general del CMI, en su discurso de bienvenida a los jóvenes de todas partes del mundo que el 16 de junio fueron acogidos en el Centro Ecuménico como stewards en preparación de la próxima reunión del Comité Central que tiene lugar del 21 al 27 de junio en Ginebra.
„Eines sage ich jungen Leuten immer, wenn sie mit dem Steward-Programm beginnen: Seien Sie äußerst vorsichtig. Die Ökumene ist ansteckend – sobald Sie sich auf dieses umwerfende Erlebnis einlassen, fangen Sie an, anders über die Kirche zu denken. Das ist kein Nachteil“, sagte der Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK)-Generalsekretär, Pastor Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay in seiner Willkommensrede an die jungen Erwachsenen aus aller Welt, die am 16. Juni im Ökumenischen Zentrum in Vorbereitung auf die Zentralausschusstagung (21.-27. Juni in Genf) als Stewards empfangen wurden.
«Il y a une chose que je dis toujours aux jeunes lorsqu’ils et elles commencent à participer au programme des stewards: faites preuve de prudence, car le virus de l’œcuménisme vous attrape. C’est une exposition époustouflante et vous commencez à penser à l’Église d’une manière très différente. Et ce n’est d'ailleurs pas une mauvaise chose», a fait remarquer le secrétaire général du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE), le pasteur Jerry Pillay, dans son discours de bienvenue aux jeunes du monde entier qui ont été accueilli-e-s au Centre œcuménique le 16 juin en tant que stewards, en préparation du prochain Comité central qui se déroulera du 21 au 27 juin à Genève.
