Member Church News: Orange Day, Korea Peace Appeal, more

September 30th 2023 is the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. This date was chosen in conjunction with Orange Shirt Day, a grassroots commemoration marked by the wearing of Orange Shirts on September 30 in remembrance of the children who had been forced to leave their families in order to attend residential schools. The Christian Reformed Church in North America has produced a podcast and devotional reflection while The United Church of Canada Moderator Carmen Lansdowne urges us to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in a video address.

A journey through advocacy, women’s leadership, and the Korea peace appeal: The call for peace in Korea has resonated for decades, echoing across international borders and faith communities. Patti Talbot, who has served The United Church of Canada for nearly 30 years, sheds light on the enduring relevance of ecumenical advocacy efforts for peace in the Korean Peninsula. She shared insights into the importance of these efforts and their potential to change the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Uniting Church in Australia Assembly General Secretary Colleen Geyer will step down from her role at the end of December 2023 after eight years offering leadership to the national council of the Church.

The latest issue of the Journal of Reformed Theology is a special issue on Our Current Extinction Crisis: Ethical and Theological Perspectives, edited by Eva van Urk-Coster.

Over 20,000 people attended the World Human Rights Forum in Buenos Aires. Hora de Obrar organized various activities as a faith organization and accompanied the actions of friendly organizations during the international week of action and remembrance.

A delegation from the Presbyterian Church (USA) was present at the United Nations last week as world leaders, such as US President Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, attended the General Assembly in New York City.

Churches express solidarity with refugees—and those helping them—in Lampedusa: Churches are expressing solidarity with refugees in Lampedusa, the Italian island on which thousands of migrants arrived last week, overloading local resources.

The council chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Annette Kurschus, calls for European solidarity in the Lampedusa crisis.

ACT Alliance general secretary: “equity is not negotiable:” As the 78th session of the UN General Assembly and the first-ever Climate Action Summit were held in New York City in September, ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria reflected on the importance of the ecumenical movement in creating a more sustainable and equitable world.

At Pacific youth consultation, a cry to “save our lives, save our seas, save our land.”

Ecumenical delegation meets with Cuban president Miguel Diaz Canél in New York: A delegation formed by the World Council of Churches, member churches, and ecumenical partners met with Cuban president Miguel Diaz Canél on 20 September, discussing the blockade and the harm it has done to the Cuban people, especially related to healthcare and health innovations in Cuba.

_{Image: Crosses made with pieces from the boats carrying refugees mark the graveyard of dozen unidentified bodies in Lampedusa (Marcelo Schneider/WCC)}