News and stories

As many Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Advent and Christmas in the security of their homes and communities, they are invited to pray for justice, peace and security for Palestine and Israel - and to send a prayer or a peace message to Bethlehem (at the following address: aei@p-ol.com).

"Please remind the world that we are no longer at war," a high-ranking government official from Sierra Leone told an international ecumenical team visiting churches and ecumenical organizations in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 2 to 8 November.

A delegation of church leaders from Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has set out to meet the presidents of the latter two countries in order to convey them a strong message in favor of peace.

To achieve reconciliation takes nothing less than the transformation of society, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia said in Managua, during a 2-5 November visit to Nicaragua.

With its streets full of bicycle riders transporting luggage or passengers alongside mini buses, Gulu in northern Uganda looks as peaceful as any small African town. However, its inhabitants, who say now they want nothing but peace, have to come to terms with the terrible crimes that were committed here during 22 years of civil war.

In Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Africa, churches have played a major role in reconciliation between groups who had been in violent conflict with each other for decades. Two international ecumenical teams sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) will visit the three countries during the next two weeks.

An international ecumenical delegation led by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, will visit Nicaragua from 2 to 5 November.

Guns have fallen silent in northern Uganda since the signing of a permanent ceasefire. Yet, church leaders are worried about the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) delaying the signature of the final peace agreement, they told an international ecumenical delegation visiting the country.

Leaders of Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority expressed divergent views on resolving the ethnic conflict in their country, while speaking to a delegation led by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

As diplomats and economists plan to meet in Doha to review progress in identifying 'innovative sources of development finance', the International Peace Bureau (IPB) has launched a Global Call for Action on Military and Social Spending, which "could make a huge impact on the fate of the world's poor".