Member Church News: Advent, Records, Peace

Newport Pagnell United Reformed Church and its community project, The Mead Centre, have become official Guinness World Record breakers. Collectively known as MK Can, the church, alongside 250 organisations, joined Milton Keynes Food Bank’s effort in creating the longest line of food cans that they could. Surpassing their target, a 10km line of food cans was created which earned them a Guinness World Records title.

The Uniting Church in Australia has shared a number of Advent resources through its website.

The Reformed Church in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, celebrated the hundredth anniversary of its foundation in a thanksgiving worship last month. Bishops from Hungary served at the event, which took place in the church in Beregszász (Berehove), Ukraine.

How can churches build on just peace in Ukraine? How can Ukrainians and other European Christians unite to encourage reconciliation in a war-torn country? And how can churches testify to the truth? These questions were examined by representatives of Ukrainian churches at a panel in Lviv, Ukraine.

Member churches in the United Kingdom, along with the international development agency Christian Aid, are calling for a ceasefire and all governments with influence to bring an immediate end to the violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

The United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), through their Common Global Ministries, have released a statement on the situation in the Middle East: “There is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, either now or at any time.”

Violence against Palestinians is rising in the West Bank: Despite the war, security concerns, and travel restrictions, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel and the WCC Jerusalem Office continue to operate. Ecumenical accompaniers have observed increasing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October.

EMW invites you to think outside the box: The Evangelical Mission Worldwide presented its work with a report and an information stand at the EKD Synod this past week.

The World Council of Churches extends a warm invitation to all its member churches and partners to actively participate in two events organized to celebrate World Children’s Day on 20 November.

Both the Pacific Council of Churches and All Africa Conference of Churches will be convening their 12th general assemblies in the coming days.