Member Church News: Creation Care, Peace Advocacy

Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has produced a Creation Care hymn for free use, “O God, Within the Psalms,” based on Psalm 23:1-6 and John 10:11-18. And the United Church in Canada offer a variety of worship materials for celebrating Earth Week.

A number of members and partners are participating in the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage.

The Uniting Church in Australia Assembly has this week sought to highlight and communicate its deep concerns about the escalating conflict in Israel-Palestine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is encouraging members to join the Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative running from Ascension Day to Pentecost Sunday (Thursday, 8 May – Sunday, 19 May). Launched eight years ago and now with 85 denominations taking part in around 180 countries annually, the Church of Scotland has been involved since 2018.

Festival Offers Ode to Literature: More than 2,200 people from across North America and beyond came to Calvin University recently to attend the 2024 Festival of Faith and Writing.

Redressing harm: forum brings voices from People of African Descent: On 15 April, faith-based and civil society organizations came together to engage with the theme of the third session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and its implications for the work of religious organizations working with and for People of African Descent.

In partnership with The Institute for the Study of Culture and Christianity (Belgrade, Serbia), the Council for World Mission organized a symposium entitled “Spirituality, Politics, and Polities” for theologians, political scientists, scholars, and activists.

A statement issued jointly by the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations condemns the ongoing Russian aggression on Ukraine, conveys solidarity to those impacted by the war, and calls for just and lasting peace in the region.

World Council of Churches General Secretary Jerry Pillay, on behalf of WCC member churches, said that the WCC cannot reconcile the Decree of the XXV World Russian People’s Council describing the conflict in Ukraine as a “Holy War.”

_{Image: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth Pictures}