World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed great concern in the wake of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines on 27 July.
In South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the peace and reconciliation work of pastors, priests and lay Christians remains critical for the people, as the global church and ecumenical groups amplify their concerns over the complex but separate conflicts in the two African countries.
Almost 70 women—members of World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee and staff—met together on 16 June for an hour of sharing, networking, and marking “Thursdays in Black,” the growing global campaign for a world free from rape and violence.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the death of Sarah Newland Martin, known for her lifetime of advocacy for persons with disabilities, for her leadership with the YMCA and Jamaica Baptist Union, and her ecumenical bridge-building.
As a group of three laureates of the “National Human Rights Award in Colombia” engaged in meetings with diplomats and United Nations representatives in Geneva, a tray lunch event was organized on 8 June at the Ecumenical Centre by the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance to offer the delegation the opportunity to share about the deterioration of the peace process in the country and the importance of international solidarity.
Um Ismail, in her 50s, loves her children fiercely and wholly, as mothers do all over the globe. But for Um Ismail, who lives in the Khan Al-Ahmar Bedouin community, finding enough water for her ten children plunges the family daily into near catastrophe.
At a webinar organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), Norwegian Church Aid, and the International Partnership of Religion and Sustainable Development to mark Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May, participants, including representatives of various faith communities, brought to light the challenges regarding access to menstrual products, education about menstruation, and period-friendly sanitation facilities.
In drought-stricken regions in eastern Africa, churches and church congregations continue to pray for rain, as the weather conditions leave millions of people without food, water and pasture for their animals.
28 May (Saturday) is Menstrual Hygiene Day. On 30 May, 2022 (Monday), the WCC Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) and the Just Community of Women and Men (JCWM) along with their partner Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) invite you to a webinar to mark this important day.
Churches in South Africa are actively responding to the flood disaster in KwaZulu Natal, in which at least 440 people have died. The floods—the strongest to hit the province in recent times—were triggered following a week of heavy rainfall in the province bordering the Indian Ocean in the east of the country.
Message of the conference "Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights", organised jointly by WCC, UEM and EKD, gathering 47 participants from 22 countries in Wuppertal (Germany) and online from 9 to 12 April 2022.
As the hybrid book event on a deeper dive in the youth publication “Let the waves roar” commenced on 1 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca welcomed everyone, saying: “I am so grateful to have the new publication with perspectives of young prophetic voices in the ecumenical movement, especially as we move toward the 11th assembly.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting an intergenerational group to explore, critically analyze, and propose ways forward at a hybrid event of a deeper dive into the different voices represented in the youth publication “Let the waves roar.”
Held in conjunction with the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a World Council of Churches’ (WCC) webinar explored how women are navigating the water, food, and climate change nexus. Panellists and participants shared women-led and gender-just responses to the climate crisis as well as the role of churches and faith-based organisations.
Hosting refugees, providing food, helping in hospitals, and ringing church bells as a warning when shelling starts—these are some of the many ways churches are responding in Ukraine and bordering countries as the war continues. More than two million people have poured out of Ukraine, and estimates from relief groups show that 18 million people—a third of the country’s population—will need humanitarian assistance.
The scope of human need is growing exponentially as the war continues between Russia and Ukraine — despite an international outcry for peace — and churches are offering vital assistance to thousands upon thousands of people.
“In the midst of death and trauma caused by this terrible event, let us bring our intercessions together, praying that the God of Life will comfort the ones who lost their loved ones and give strength to those involved in the actions of solidarity with the victims,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, as a torrential rainfall took the lives of over 100 people in Petrópolis, Brazil.
