World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay strongly condemned the Israeli military attack on Iranian territory as “an unlawful act that violates international law and the sovereignty of a nation-state.
Christian Aid acknowledged the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel during a special ceremony and high tea on 12 June at the Church House, Dean’s Yard.
World Council of Churches of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay joined church leaders in condemning in the strongest terms yet another deliberate and unconscionable attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. The attack killed five people, including three journalists.
A 5 June webinar, “Accompaniment, solidarity, and joint action for justice and peace,” organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, starkly illustrated the how crucial it is to carry the voices and share the stories from Palestine and Israel.
During a field visit to the south Lebanon, organized by youth groups and movements from the churches of Lebanon in cooperation with brothers from the Taize community, Maria Bzdigian, project manager at the Middle East Council of Churches, found the impact of the war heartbreaking—and impossible to ignore.
Leaders of English-speaking churches in Geneva held a prayer vigil on 27 May at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, with money donated going towards supporting the work of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
Nordic churches—including the those in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Finland—have released statements calling for restoring the ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, releasing hostages, delivering food and medicine to Gaza, and ending violence against the Palestinian population of the West Bank.
A webinar on 5 June, entitled “Accompaniment, solidarity and joint action for justice and peace,” will be another milestone of the new World Council of Churches (WCC) campaign, “Stop annexation, end the occupation.”
A webinar on 21 May, “From Occupation to Annexation: Legal perspectives and the implications of current political realities for the occupied population,” examined legal realities in Palestine and Israel—even as the grim situation on the ground are changing by the hour.
A webinar on 21 May, entitled “From Occupation to Annexation: Legal perspectives and the implications of current political realities for the occupied population,” will kick off a new World Council of Churches (WCC) campaign, “Stop annexation, end the occupation.”
Stop annexation, end the occupation,” a new, multi-faceted campaign running from 21 May to 11 June, will pave a path for just peace in Palestine and Israel.
As food supplies run out in Gaza, hunger is taking lives—and endangering many more. Since 2 March, when Israeli armed forces closed all entry points for humanitarian aid into Gaza, no food, no drinking water, no medicine, or any other essential supplies have entered the territory.
A delegation of alumni from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel visited Washington, DC, to amplify the voices of those affected by escalating human rights violations in Jerusalem and across Palestine.
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem emphatically condemned the “egregious violations that desecrated the sanctity of Jerusalem” on 19 April, particularly in the Old City and around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, during the celebration of Holy Fire Saturday.
On Holy Fire Saturday, hundreds of Christian worshippers seeking to enter Jerusalem’s Old City for the celebration were prevented; others were met with heavily enforced checkpoints, physical and verbal harassment, and widespread restrictions by Israeli police and border forces.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem proclaim to the world an Easter message of life and hope. “It is the same message first announced to the women who had come to mourn at Christ's tomb,” the text notes. “The Lord had risen indeed!”
Dr Suhaila Tarazi, director of Al Ahli Arab Hospital (Ahli) in Gaza City, shared her reflections during Holy Week—the dire situations facing the patients, what gives her hope, and her Easter message to all people of goodwill across the world.
