In January 2014, the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic started in Guinea and then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. In all three countries the churches have been on the front line of response.
The Bishop of Peshawar said that, following what he called “another unimaginable horror”, the Church in Pakistan has decided to make Christmas a time of quiet prayer and simple worship.
A year ago today, 15 December, violence broke out in Juba. Since then, the conflict has left nearly 2 million people displaced in South Sudan or in neighbouring countries. Overall, nearly 4 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, with the food crisis growing. Although there is relative calm at the moment, security needs to be sustained before people feel safe to return home and start rebuilding their lives and communities.
The Anglican Alliance is calling leaders in education from Commonwealth countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific, to apply to their next fellowship programme with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Anglican Alliance is marking International Day of Persons with Disabilities with the launch of a new resource, ‘A better life together’, to help faith communities engage with and support people with disabilities living in refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
On Tuesday 2nd December the Vatican City saw a truly historic gathering of global faith leaders. The Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and other global faith leaders from Orthodox, Jewish, Sunni and Shia Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist communities came together to make a joint declaration on ending modern slavery.
World AIDS Day is marked every year on 1 December. World AIDS Day is an important annual event giving people worldwide the opportunity to unite in highlighting HIV, to demonstrate their support for those living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
On Sunday 7th December 2014 the Our Voices campaign is asking churches and faith communities worldwide to hold a vigil at 8pm local time and mark the climate discussions in Lima, Peru.
In a video shared with a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation on the Ebola response, Archbishop Justin Welby said the way that churches grapple with caring for communities affected by Ebola “takes us right back to who Jesus is”.
Anglicans around the world are taking part in events from 25 November – 10 December 2014 to mobilise and equip them to respond on gender based and sexual violence issues as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.