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WCC urges prayers—and action—for the plight of people in Sudan

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches director of Public Witness and Diakonia, returned from Sudan with what he described as “a broken heart” after witnessing the plight of the people. Yet he also shared signs of hope that a pact for peace can end the suffering.

25 April 2024

Climate change induced floods have affected many countries on the African continent in recent years. Here, local farmer James Kuony Malual walks through a flooded piece of land in Akobo, South Sudan.

As floods strike East Africa, church officials fear nature is hitting back

As climate change induced floods terrorize communities in East Africa, clerics and officials here fear that nature was hitting back.

Floods have struck Kenya and Tanzania, leaving behind a trail of death, destruction, and displacement. Floods are most intense in some of the same areas previously struck by a lengthy drought described by the UN as the worst in four decades.

25 April 2024

Churches in South Sudan appeal for support during worsening humanitarian crisis

Churches in South Sudan are appealing for humanitarian assistance, amidst fears that the consequences of climate change, macro-economic shocks, and the war in Sudan could sink the country further into the worst humanitarian crisis since independence.

26 March 2024

Image of rubble after a bomb hits the ground.

Words of steadfastness ring from the rubble

“We won’t leave Gaza as long as there is a standing church.”

“We will not be the last Christians living in Gaza.” “

“We lost everything, but we can’t lose our mission and our belonging to this place dear to our hearts.”

“Christianity started here and will continue to be here.”

These are the words people are uttering as Nader Abu Amsha, executive director of Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches (DSPR-MECC), tries to help them simply survive the next day.

21 March 2024

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Kenya 1

Christians in Kenya mark Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

At the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of St Anargyroi Church in Nairobi, Christians joined for ecumenical services to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the annual event celebrated from 18-25 January.

23 January 2024

WCC calls for immediate end to brutal violence in Gaza

As a year of exceptional and increasing conflict draws to a close, and as we pray for peace for all in 2024, “that prospect seems nowhere more remote than for the suffering and traumatized people of Gaza,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.

30 December 2023

Displaced people south of Gaza face extreme difficulty

Ministering to the needs of displaced people, most of them south of Gaza, the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches has a clear message to the world.

21 December 2023

Las iglesias de África acuerdan directrices para la inclusión de la discapacidad

“Tengo parálisis cerebral con cuadriplejia espástica, lo que significa que todas mis extremidades están gravemente afectadas”. A pesar de esto, mi parálisis cerebral no me define. Soy mucho más que mi parálisis cerebral”, dijo Julius Van der Wat, miembro de la Iglesia Reformada Holandesa de Pretoria (Sudáfrica), en una reciente conferencia de las iglesias sobre discapacidad celebrada en Sudáfrica.

20 December 2023

Very Rev. Dr Evans Onyemara thankful for “assurance that we are not abandoned on our journey” in Nigeria

Rev. Dr Evans Onyemara, general secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria, attended the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee meeting from 8-14 November in Abuja, Nigeria. He took time to reflect on accomplishments and challenges in his country, and why he’s grateful for the presence of the WCC.

29 November 2023

Violence against Palestinians is rising in the West Bank

Despite the war, security concerns, and travel restrictions, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel and the WCC Jerusalem Office continue to operate. Ecumenical accompaniers have observed increasing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7.

16 November 2023

WCC demands immediate ceasefire, humanitarian corridors in Palestine and Israel

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 8-14 November, released a statement that demands an immediate ceasefire, and the opening of humanitarian corridors in Palestine and Israel.

13 November 2023

Former WCC steward, now UN peace-builder, remembers learning “global problems can only be solved together”

Matthias Schmale is a UN resident and humanitarian coordinator based in Nigeria. He previously served with the UN Relief and Works Agency, and is also a former World Council of Churches (WCC) steward. He took some time to reflect on his concerns, current work, and fond memories of his days as a steward.

08 November 2023

Ecumenical accompanier: “many Palestinians simply want to live a peaceful life”

Sinéad Ní Bhroin, from the EAPPI UK and Ireland team, served as an ecumenical accompanier in Bethlehem from 31 August to 7 October. The World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel, based on an appeal from local church leaders to create an international presence in the country, accompanies the local people and communities, offering a protective presence and witnessing daily struggles and hopes. Below, a reflection on what she witnessed while in the field.

06 November 2023

Anticipating extreme rainfall, Kenyan churches prepare their people

After fighting battles against severe droughts, Kenyan churches are preparing their communities for extreme rainfall, as weather experts warn of a possible El-Nino phenomenon from October-December.

24 October 2023

Title of the film, “Our Land of Olives and Vines”

Film screening underscores imminent loss for Palestinians in Al Makhrour

During a film screening at the World Council of Churches on 4 October, viewers got a deeper understanding of why Palestinians are about to lose one of the last green spaces left for them in the Bethlehem Governorate.

05 October 2023

Water pours from a faucet into a person's hands

Human rights advocates celebrate democratic control of water in Nigeria

After a years-long battle against proposed water-related legislation in Nigeria that had high potential for privatizing water, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network in Nigeria celebrated the defeat of the proposed law, and pledged to continue to protect water as a human right.

07 June 2023

People outside the chapel in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan

South Sudan Anglican Archbishop: We have sold our sorghum to aid fleeing Sudan refugees

In Renk, a small South Sudanese town on the banks of the White Nile, churches are working to help thousands of people fleeing the war in the neighbouring Sudan.

01 June 2023