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WCC staff appointed to WHO Civil Society Working Group on NCDs

The WHO Director-General has convened a Civil Society Working Group on non-communicable diseases to strengthen civil society contribution to combat NCDs. In this regard, the WHO has appointed the WCC programme executive for Health and Healing, Dr Mwai Makoka, to this working group.

WCC President Wejryd: ‘Water, in many ways, represents God’

Swedish Archbishop emeritus Anders Wejryd, president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) for Europe, recently attended a ceremony during which Rodrigo Mundaca, who has fought for free access to water in Chile, received the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award. Wejryd shared with WCC Communication some of his thoughts on water justice.

Climate emergency: faith-based groups pledge to amplify prophetic voice

In a daylong meeting on 24 September entitled: “Climate Emergency: Faith-based Organizations Raising Ambition - Leaving No One Behind,” representatives from dozens of churches and organizations from across the world gathered to explore their role in stemming climate change and the human suffering it is already causing.

The Bible and biodiversity portrayed via photo exhibition in New York and Geneva

On Thursday 26 September at 12:30 the photo exhibition “And It Is Good” will be launched in the lobby of the Ecumenical Centre, 150 route de Ferney, Geneva. The exhibition pairs photos of nature and creation with verses from the Bible.

The exhibition is launched in New York and Geneva in the week of the Climate Action Summit, to draw attention to the importance of biodiversity affirm the creation is good.

A humble servant in God’s herd

When he was asked last year to take over as vicar in the parish of Ilulissat, on Greenland’s west coast, Loqqi Fleischer was a bit anxious about how the transition from his smaller hometown Uummannaq, further north along the coastline, would work out. Nevertheless, he took on the challenge and was warmly welcomed right away in the new environment.

WCC helps religious leaders relate better to adolescents

Religious leaders are learning to communicate better with adolescents about sexuality and other issues young people face, said participants at a training workshop using materials developed by the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme.

“There are no spare parts for whales”

It is midnight and the sun just about hides for a little while beneath the horizon. The calm sea is scattered with icebergs in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some are like five-story buildings, with vertical sharp-edged walls rising high above the surface. Others are more like snow-capped hilltops, slowly ploughing through the blank water.

Dealing with traumas and healing of wounds

It is confirmation season in Greenland. In churches across the country, bench rows are decorated with flowers and candles along the aisle. Joy is in the air and it is time for a vast majority of 14-year-olds to have their Christian baptism confirmed.

Knowledge of gender roles deepens in Togo

Pastors, supervisors, teachers, counselors, chaplains and youth from primary schools, universities, theological institutions, and churches met from 23-24 May at the Theresia Residency in Togo to reflect and deepen their knowledge on masculinities, femininities and HIV.

Greenland church life and climate challenges featured in new series

In Greenland, travel by either air or boat is the conventional – and only – way of getting from place to place. The distances between populated areas scattered along the rugged coastline of the world’s largest island are long and there are no roads connecting cities and settlements. Neither railways nor inland waterways exist and some rural areas can only be reached by helicopter. In winter, dog-sled is an alternative, particularly in the north and east.

WCC to hold Midday Prayer for those grieving after flight disaster

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting the public, media, and all people of goodwill to join in a Midday Prayer on 20 March. Prayers will focus on grieving family, friends and colleagues who lost loved ones from UN agencies, the WCC and other organizations who perished in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash on 10 March.

A faith-based, holistic approach to HIV and AIDS-care

In a country now counting 100 million inhabitants, and where 2.5 percent are added annually, it is increasingly hard for the government to keep pace with the needs of its people. “In this challenging environment, the work of non-governmental organisations is critical in order to ease the burden on public service institutions”, explains Dr Maged Moussa Yanny, general director of EpiscoCare.

Faith and HIV treatment go hand in hand

For HIV-infected people in Nairobi, the Eastern Deanery Aids Relief Program makes a difference. By providing a quarter of the antiretroviral therapy care, it helps around 26,000 HIV-infected people in the Kenyan capital to live normal lives.

Turning mercy and compassion into action

Ten years ago, while studying to become a nurse, Khadijah Abdullah was confronted at a hospital with a rather difficult patient, a Muslim living with AIDS who was also coping with several other medical issues. When Abdullah realized how isolated and stigmatized this patient was in his own faith community, she became aware of her prejudices and ignorance and she decided to do something about it.