Member Church News: Helping Refugees, Speaking Truth

Reformed and united churches urge “reconciliation must not become a silencing discourse”: The WCRC’s Hanns Lessing moderated a confessional meeting of Reformed and United churches at the meeting of the World Council of Churches Central Committee.

In 2020, the UN Refugee Agency reported that nearly 82.4 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide. As Christians, we are called to welcome and love the strangers in our midst. We are called to care for those who have been persecuted. Yet when the need is so great, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The Reformed Church in America offers some tangible ways that you can help refugees and displaced people.

Meanwhile, as the war in Ukraine continues, refugees seeking safety have begun to arrive in Canada. Churches and individuals are finding ways to help them adapt to a new homeland.

The United Reformed Church (UK) 2022 General Assembly takes place from 8-11 July in a new hybrid format. Items on the agenda include Legacies of Slavery and reinvigorating the ecumenical vision of the URC.

South Sudan church leaders welcome messages of hope on eve of postponed peace pilgrimage: Church leaders in South Sudan have welcomed as encouraging, messages of hope delivered to the people by global Christian leaders, on the eve of the postponed joint ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to the world’s youngest nation.

Incoming WCC head Jerry Pillay: “Our task is to proclaim God’s name.” Jerry Pillay told Religion News Service that controversy after his election to lead the World Council of Churches was “expected.”

World Student Christian Federation shares message of “speaking truth to power”: The World Student Christian Federation, after holding its General Assembly 23-30 June, shared a message of its shared vision and values that celebrate the central place of Christian faith in young people’s journey together toward justice and peace.

_{Image: The World Student Christian Federation, General Assembly 23-30 2022 (WCC).}