 | 2008 |
| |
| 09.05.2008 |  | | Growing Christian community in Nepal needs strengthened theological education
Firsthand reports on the extraordinary development of Christianity in Nepal and the growing need for improvements in theological education and participation in the ecumenical movement were all part of recent consultation on the future of theological education in South Asia. Read more
|  |
| 09.05.2008 | | | Israel and Palestine - 60 years, comment by the World Council of Churches general secretary
Just as 2008 marks 60 years of aspirations dedicated to securing a homeland for Israelis, 2008 also marks 60 years of the disintegration of Palestinian society and dispersal of some 750,000 Palestinians as refugees. To date, the situation in the Palestinian Territories reflects the absence of peace and a continuation of occupation and conflict. While Israelis celebrate the 60th anniversary of their state, Palestinians are marking six decades of displacement and dispossession. Read more
| |
| 05.05.2008 |  | | Iraqi refugees cry out to Christians around the world for solidarity
"Although I had been threatened many times in Iraq, I did not want to leave," says the Armenian Orthodox hairdresser Cayran. "But then my shop was burnt and the car of my husband, who used to work as a driver, was robbed. So we left everything behind and fled to Syria." Read more
| |
| 05.05.2008 | | | Message of the presidents of the WCC at Pentecost 2008
On the first Pentecost the disciples of Jesus were together in one place waiting, expectant, open to the new thing that God was to do in them and among them. And because they were faithful in their waiting and open to God’s promise they could receive into themselves that rushing mighty wind of the Spirit that was to strengthen them in their new life of fellowship in prayer, in the breaking of bread, in sharing their goods with glad and sincere hearts, and empowering them to go out and announce the good news to the whole world. Jesus sent the Spirit to his friends, as he had promised he would, to show them his love and to assure them that they would never be alone. Read more
| |
| 30.04.2008 | | | WCC congratulates Paraguayan President-elect
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has congratulated President-elect Fernando Lugo on his victory in Paraguay's recent presidential election. In a letter dated 29 April, Kobia highlights Lugo's "commitment to the poorest and excluded", in tune with "the rich tradition of a Latin American Christianity which has struggled to follow Jesus amidst a reality marked by inequality and lack of justice". Read more
| |
| 29.04.2008 | | | Ecumenical observers challenge Zimbabwe election process and demand respect for the will of the people
The 29 March elections in Zimbabwe were "far from being free and fair" and were "skewed in favour of the incumbent who openly utilised state resources to his advantage," two ecumenical bodies said in a recently released report on the election. The Zimbabwean people "expressed their will on polling day" and that will must be "upheld and respected" the report said. Read more
| |
| 25.04.2008 | | | Statement on Zimbabwe by the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches
Concerned about the integrity of elections, the World Council of Churches Central Committee stated recently that, "...in democratic systems, elections serve as a way for people to confer legitimacy on a participatory democratic political system. In order to ensure that an election truly reflects the will of the people, attention should be paid to pre- and post-electoral mechanisms." Read more
| |
| 24.04.2008 | | | Syria sets example for good relations between Christians and Muslims and hospitality to refugees
"Islam cannot be studied like grammar," Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of the Greek Orthodox Church in Syria, told a delegation led by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), who had come to Syria wishing to learn from the country's long experience of Christians and Muslims living peacefully together. "We have to see the real people and share with them. Muslims are sharing with you by living in your countries. Why do you ignore them?" the patriarch asked particularly the delegation members from Europe and the United States at the outset of their 19 to 22 April visit. Read more
| |
| 23.04.2008 |  | | The New Nuclear Threat Engaging Youth to End the Danger
Hidden from the front pages and headline news reports is the reality the world may be slipping into a second age of an increasing nuclear weapons threat. The risk of nuclear weapons being used is estimated to be higher today than during much of the Cold War. Instead of many nuclear weapons the hands of the few, there are now many nuclear weapons in more hands. International agreements that control nuclear arms have been greatly weakened by the policies of nuclear and non-nuclear powers alike. Read more
| |
| 17.04.2008 | | | Migration: Welcoming the stranger is not optional, says WCC
"Migration is a fact of life. It is as much an instinct to survive as it is an inevitable consequence of globalization. We can neither turn our backs on it, nor control it," declared in a statement participants at a 15-16 April Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape in Beirut, Lebanon. "Migrants are not commodities, illegal aliens or mere victims, they are human beings." Read more
| |
| 17.04.2008 | | | "Ignored by the whole world" - a visit to Yambio, Sudan
Metropolitan Dr Zacharias Mar Theophilus, from the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India, was a member of an ecumenical team that recently visited Sudan's Yambio region. The capital city of West Equatoria state, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yambio is green and fertile. "But the people we met there feel ignored," says Metropolitan Theophilus, "ignored by Khartoum, ignored by Juba, ignored by the whole world." Read more
| |
| 15.04.2008 | | | Lebanon: Muslims and Christians tackle migration together
"Migration is a human concern, not a Muslim or a Christian one, and therefore Christians and Muslims must act on it together." Representatives of Lebanon's six most numerous faith communities shared this view as the Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape was officially opened in Beirut on April 14. Read more
| |
| 11.04.2008 | | | WCC welcomes summit on Zimbabwe crisis
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has welcomed the initiative of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to convene a summit of Southern African heads of state to address the current crisis in Zimbabwe. Read more
| |
| 09.04.2008 |  | | Sudanese youth and women identify challenges in a war-torn country
Based on a candid assessment of how two decades of war have affected them, Sudanese youth told church leaders what they need most: skills training, jobs and means of participating in shaping their country’s future. Sudanese women, in turn, spoke out about their vulnerability, increased by war and cultural patterns. Read more
| |
| 09.04.2008 | | | The impact of migration on churches to be focus of global ecumenical conference in Beirut
Testimonies by young Christians from the Middle East on why many of them leave the region in search of a brighter future will inform the Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape to be held in Beirut, from 15 to 16 April. An ecumenical delegation headed by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will attend the hearing at the outset of a seven-day visit to the region focusing on migration as a global phenomenon. Read more
| |
| 07.04.2008 | | | Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir reaffirms willingness to work "side by side" with churches
"We remain committed to work side by side with the churches", the president of Southern Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit told representatives of an international ecumenical delegation in Juba, Southern Sudan, on 3 April 2008. Read more
| |
| 04.04.2008 | | | Sudan: churches at a crossroad
Sudanese churches stand at a crossroads, said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia. On the one hand, they face a transition from liberation fight to rebuilding their homes and communities. On the other, they live in a country where Islam and Christianity cross paths and the relationship between the two is vital. Read more
| |
| 01.04.2008 | | | Sales park for second hand cars on Christian cemetery illustrates difficulties of Sudanese Christians
In Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, it is hard for Christians to have their own place - even after they have died. The city's Christian cemetery, which has been turned into a sales park for second hand cars, illustrates well the challenges faced by the minority Christian community in the northern, predominantly Muslim part of the country. Read more
| |
| 01.04.2008 | | | Salvation Army and African Instituted Churches welcomed at Forum on Bilateral Dialogues
Christian World Communions as well as the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches sent representatives to the Ninth Forum on Bilateral Dialogues in order to share information on recent bilateral consultations between churches and to discuss the vision of unity expressed in their ecumenical texts. Read more
| |
| 28.03.2008 | | | WCC criticizes Islamophobic film, calls for mutual respect
The movie Fitna, recently released online by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders was criticized as "a clear case of Islamophobia" by Rev. Dr Shanta Premawardhana, director of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Programme on Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation. "Through graphic images the filmmaker depicts violent extremism without any attempt to distinguish it from mainstream Islam. Extremism is a problem for most religions and needs to be countered through interreligious dialogue," Premawardhana said. Read more
| |
| 28.03.2008 | | | Sudanese churches face "tremendous tasks and challenges"
Amid ongoing fighting and humanitarian crises in several regions of Sudan, and risks of failure in implementing the 2005 peace agreement that ended two decades of civil war between north and south, the Sudanese people and churches face "tremendous tasks and challenges", an international ecumenical team of church representatives was told at the beginning of an eight-day solidarity visit to the country. Read more
| |
| 26.03.2008 | | | Christians and Muslims must enhance common ground and acknowledge differences, says WCC
Love for one's neighbour is "an essential and integral part of faith in God and love of God" for both Islam and Christianity. How Christians and Muslims can engage in reflections of this love together is the central theme of a commentary issued by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on Thursday, 20 March. Compiled by Christian experts in Christian-Muslim relations, it addresses the churches and offers suggestions on responding to the widely noticed letter "A Common Word" by 138 Muslim leaders in October 2007. Read more
| |
| 20.03.2008 | | | International ecumenical team to pay solidarity visit to Sudan
An international ecumenical team of church representatives will pay a solidarity visit to churches and ecumenical organizations in Sudan from 26 March to 2 April. The team led by the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will split in four groups to visit Darfur, Khartoum, Rumbek and Yambio before joining Sudanese church leaders, women and youth for a three-day conference in Juba. Read more
| |
| 17.03.2008 | | | Extrajudicial Executions in the Philippines - A Call to End Impunity
International human rights experts and activists from the Philippines will address the continuing problem of extrajudicial killings in a side event to the UN Human Rights Council's 7th session. Read more
| |
| 14.03.2008 | | | Tribute to Chiara Lubich
Recalling the charisma of Chiara Lubich as a "flame of love that began to shine in the midst of the ashes and destruction of war" in a tribute to the founder of the Focolare movement, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia shared the "deep sorrow" of her many friends on the WCC upon the news of her death. Chiara Lubich, who dedicated herself to the promotion of peace, church unity and inter-religious dialogue, died on 14 March aged 88 at her home near Rome, Italy. Read more
| |
| 12.03.2008 | | | Tribute to Lukas Vischer
"The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the ecumenical movement have lost an outstanding ecumenist, a man of vision and great passion for the future of life on earth and a church visibly united in faithfulness to Christ's calling," affirmed WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a tribute to Prof. Dr Lukas Vischer, who died on 11 March 2008, at the age of 81. Read more
| |
| 10.03.2008 | | | WCC expresses sorrow to victims' families, condemns attack on Jewish seminary
"We express our sincere sorrow and sympathy to the families of those who were killed or injured in the shootings last week at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia on 10 March, joining his voice to those of the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. "An attack on a Jewish seminary has a profound impact on all people of faith. The World Council of Churches strongly condemns this attack." Read more
| |