As violence mounted in Washington, DC on 6 January amid the ongoing election-related tensions in the USA, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed “grave and mounting concern” at the latest developments.
Rev. Dr Munther Isaac from the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, is academic dean at the Bethlehem Bible College. Below, he reflects on how, during 2020, the celebration of Christmas in Bethlehem, though vastly different than in the past, still brought hope and comfort.
On 30 December 2020, a tragic landslide struck the village of Ask, Norway, located in Gjerdrum, about 50 kilometers northeast of Oslo. Ten people were killed, and more than 1,000 people had to be evacuated from the area, even as they mourn lost loved ones in the close-knit community. Rt. Rev. Atle Sommerfeldt, bishop of Borg in the Church of Norway, reflects on how the church is bringing hope in the midst of what, for many in Gjerdrum, has become a valley of despair.
Even as nations continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, final preparations are under way for one of the world’s largest annual prayer observances, traditionally celebrated 18-25 January. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity involves Christian communities from many traditions and all parts of the globe. At a time when public health concerns put a limit on physical gatherings, it provides an opportunity for churches to come together by means of a typically Christian practice that long predates modern transport: prayer.
The latest issue of “International Review of Mission,” the twice-yearly journal of the Word Council of Churches (WCC) on mission and evangelism, looks toward the WCC’s 11th Assembly taking place in 2022 in Germany on the theme “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”
The National Council of Churches in Korea has published a Korean translation of The Light of Peace: Churches in Solidarity with the Korean Peninsula, a book the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship is using to recognize 70 years of unresolved conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
An upcoming symposium will explore “2021: A Defining Year for Accelerating Gender Equality, Equity and Justice.” Scheduled for 26 January, the event marks the 7th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.
As the years change over the World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca on 31 December condemned the vicious Yemen attack hitting civilians. Sauca also expressed solidarity and prayers with churches and responders who continue to help hundreds of injured and traumatized people of the earthquake in Croatia and Norway landslide.
In five episodes held on the third Thursday of each month beginning in November, the webinars will explore the following themes: “Answering the Ancestral Call of Legacy and Leadership,” “The Healing in Our Lament,” “Hope: Unity Within Diversity,” “The Celebration in Transformation,” and “Resurrection: The Diakonia at Work in the World Today.”
The fourth edition of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Eco-School on Water, Food and Climate Justice will be held 23-27 November 2020 in the Pacific region in five countries (Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu & Solomon Islands), hosted by the Pacific Conference of Churches.
Preparing the Week of Prayer 2021, the Community of Grandchamp in Switzerland chose the theme “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit” (cf. Jn 15:5-9). It expresses their community’s vocation to prayer, reconciliation and unity in the church and the human family.
An upcoming symposium will explore the theme “2021: A Defining Year for Accelerating Gender Equality, Equity and Justice”. Scheduled for 26 January, the event marks the 7th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.
From 2-5 June 2021, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey hosts an international conference on ‘Teaching Ecumenism in the Context of World Christianity’.
The Central Committee serves as the chief governing body of the WCC until the next assembly, meeting every 2 years. It is responsible for carrying out the policies adopted by the Assembly, reviewing and supervising WCC programmes and the budget of the Council.
Applications for the Interreligious Summer School of the WCC's Ecumenical Institute Bossey are open until 30 November 2020.
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC interim general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.
