Category: Worldwide

“In 2015, we started working in partnership with UNICEF to support churches’ efforts for children and young people. It was the children themselves who urged us in 2016 to include climate justice as one of the three pillars of the Churches’ Commitments to Children, a programme launched as a result of consultations with 245 experts from churches, children themselves and child rights organisations,” said Seidel to the participants of the online conference.

Seidel presented several resources developed by WCC with churches and partners sharing climate justice initiatives undertaken by children. “For example, the toolkit ‘Climate Justice with and for Children and Youth in Churches: Get informed, Get Inspired, Take Action’ features several examples and tools from children worldwide who mobilised their communities and leaders around climate solutions,” explained. 

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Together with the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa, the solidarity visit to Sudan is taking place from 20-25 April. 

This visit was originally planned for early 2020, but was prevented by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is now being undertaken in a context that in the meantime has greatly changed, in particular due to the events of October 2021 in which the Sudanese military suspended the Constitution and dissolved the civilian administration,” notes Rev. Ibrahim Wushishi Yusuf, WCC programme executive for Peacebuilding in the African Region. 

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In a response to a letter from First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed both his appreciation for her candid reflections as well as his own pain at the ongoing and increasingly grave humanitarian consequences of the conflict.

“Reading your letter, I heard the cries and the weeping of the Ukrainian mothers who lost their children, of the families who lost their dear ones, the despair of those under the ruins of bombed houses, of those dehydrated and starving without hope of escape since the ravages of war do not allow for secure humanitarian corridors,” wrote Sauca.

“But I also hear the pain and suffering of Russian mothers, wives, children and parents who receive their dear ones in a coffin, from this illogical fratricide war.”

WCC acting general secretary responds to First Lady of Ukraine #OlenaZelenska https://t.co/zvTqJ27Kml #WCC #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ljVpPKusTJ

— World Council of Churches (WCC) (@Oikoumene) March 23, 2022

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A statement from World Relief reads: “Over the weekend, our hearts sank as we watched images of mothers and children fleeing Ukraine while their husbands stayed behind to fight. We prayed for the people who are sheltering in subways or waiting in miles of backed up traffic to escape the violence.

“As hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians come to terms with the shocking reality of life as a refugee, you may be wondering what you can do to help in a situation that seems totally out of your control.

“Yet, the Bible tells us we were created for such a time as this. We’re called to not be overcome with evil and injustice, but to overcome evil with good. And when disaster strikes, World Relief can respond to this biblical calling because of people like you.

Today, the war in Ukraine has taken center stage in the news. World Relief is preparing to resettle Ukrainian refugees and is providing assistance to those already in the United States that are desperately seeking help for their families. We’re working with partners in the region to provide assistance on the ground. The situation is changing rapidly, and so will the ways in which we are called to respond.

The reality is, we’re facing more simultaneous disasters than we’ve seen in generations – flooding, cyclones, war, hunger… World Relief counts on people like you to mobilize churches and our staff to respond to each of these disasters, and more. We cannot control when disaster strikes, but God calls you and me to respond with compassion wherever and whenever help is needed most.

“The World Council of Churches affirms and supports the appeal issued on 24 February 2022 by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine (Moscow Patriarchate),” said Sauca.

“Recalling the ties of history and affinity between the Ukrainian people and the Russian people, His Beatitude called directly on President Putin to stop the war, which he likened to Cain’s murder of Abel.”

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“The World Council of Churches affirms and supports the appeal issued on 24 February 2022 by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine (Moscow Patriarchate),” said Sauca.

“Recalling the ties of history and affinity between the Ukrainian people and the Russian people, His Beatitude called directly on President Putin to stop the war, which he likened to Cain’s murder of Abel.”

Click here to read more.