WCC NEWS: WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel convenes annual meeting

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel convened its Annual Meeting on 12-14 April, to receive updates about the reconfiguration of the WCC’s Jerusalem-based activities as well as to make plans to be able to safely send Ecumenical Accompaniers back to the region to continue providing protective international presence for vulnerable Palestinian communities and to monitor and report on incidents of concern.  Participants in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel greet the children as they undertake a 'school run' in the H2 area of Hebron, by which they offer an international presence as Palestinian children go to school, 2 March 2020, Hebron, Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 15 April 2021 In an opening prayer, WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca prayed for all the people in the Holy Land to live in peace. “May your peace reign throughout this land, removing the fear that has gripped the lives of so many,” Sauca prayed. “Especially we remember before you the children, who are afraid that their school will be demolished.” Sauca prayed for the power of love to bring down the walls that separate people. “God of justice and peace, we come praying for just peace in the Holy Land,” he prayed. “We pray for the end of occupation and the increase of conflict resolution.” During the past month, the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel published an “Easter Initiative” that included a series of video narratives, feature stories and prayers “following in the footsteps of Jesus” and spotlighting current realities under occupation. While Christians around the globe prepared to celebrate Easter, military occupation continued to severely impact communities in the same places where Jesus himself walked in the Easter story. The Easter Initiative connects the Biblical narrative with current realities in Palestine and Israel.   WCC-EAPPI Easter initiative to follow the footsteps of Jesus, spotlighting current realities under occupation   Initiative de Pâques de l’EAPPI du COE pour suivre les pas de Jésus, mettant en lumière les réalités actuelles sous l’occupation   EAPPI-Initiative zu Ostern folgt den Spuren Jesu und beleuchtet gegenwärtigen Lebensrealitäten unter Besatzung   Iniciativa de Pascua del PEAPI del CMI: Tras los pasos de Jesús con las realidades actuales de la ocupación en el punto de mira   مبادرة عيد الفصح المشتركة بين مجلس الكنائس العالمي وبرنامج المرافقة المسكوني في فلسطين وإسرائيل للسير على خطى يسوع المسيح بإبراز الوقائع الراهنة تحت وطأة الاحتلال See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland