WCRC Church News: Cranes, Climate Change, Church Days, Consultations

The peace crane ministry of First Congregational Church in Santa Barbara, California, USA, has been continually active since it began with a flock of 1,000 origami peace cranes received from Newtown Congregational Church in Connecticut after the Isla Vista shootings in June 2014.

To celebrate the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan’s 150th anniversary, a first ever Church Day (Kirchentag in German) was launched in Tainan, Taiwan, in October.

Last week the Global Christian Forum brought together church leaders from around the world, including WCRC President Jerry Pillay, for a gathering in Tirana, Albania. The theme was Discrimination, Persecution, Martyrdom: Following Christ Together.

The Alliance of Presbyterian Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean (AIPRAL) has sent a letter to the president of El Salvador, asking that he initiate a public dialogue on the violence and state repression that exists in the Central American country.

Two pastors in the Christian Reformed Church in North America are pleased by the responses they have received in their work as regional organizers for the CRC’s Climate Witness Project.

Meanwhile, United Church of Christ congregations around the USA are making plans for a public witness for environmental justice on Saturday, 14 November, when they join advocates the world over in a call to stop funding fossil fuels.