Archbishop of York joins anniversary events for Holocaust Memorial Day
[Office of the Archbishop of York] Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell and the bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullally, attended two remembrance events Jan. 27 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is “Learn for a better future,” urging people to reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust and more recent genocides. The first was a service at the Great Hall at Lambeth Palace, hosted by the Council of Christians and Jews. Cottrell introduced the event along with Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, rabbi of the New North London Synagogue and senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK. It then included testimonies from Holocaust survivor Martin Stern and second-generation Roma survivor Daniela Abraham. Stern survived camps at both Westerbork and Theresienstadt, held there after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Writer and ceramicist Edmund de Waal, whose Jewish ancestors were driven out of Vienna by the Nazis in 1938, offered a reflection. He also had created a candleholder especially for the ceremony, which Mullally and others lighted. Cottrell and Mullally later attended a national service of remembrance at the Guildhall in London, joined by members of the royal family, members of Parliament, faith leaders, and survivors of the Holocaust and the Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur genocides. Cottrell said, “Eighty years on since the liberation of Auschwitz, we gather to mark Holocaust Memorial Day remembering the millions of people who were killed during the Second World War. The Holocaust is a horrifying reminder of what can happen when the world turns its head. Across their death camps, the Nazis murdered more than six million people, mostly Jews, each made lovingly in God’s image. We must not ignore such crimes. “I pray for the survivors of this sin against humanity, the majority of whom were children at the time, born into a world that wanted to kill them. Each one of them is a living testimony to the horrors of war, but also the towering resilience in the face of such unspeakable evil. I give thanks for them, and pray for God’s protection over them as they confront again this painful part of their past, and our history. “‘Evil triumphs when good men do nothing’ – let us strive for peace and recognize we are of the one same humanity.”
Congregations answer MLK’s question, ‘What are you doing for others?’
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that “life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” United Church of Christ congregations have been actively answering that question in many ways, including embracing the Civil Rights…
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WCC extends congratulations to H.E. Abune Basliyos upon enthronement as 6th Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended congratulations to H.E. Abune Basliyos upon enthronement as 6th Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
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As they graduate, Bossey students ask: “What will you do with your gracious gift?”
During a moving ceremony on 27 January, 28 students graduating from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey reflected on the profound and unique experience that will unite them as they embark on their journeys back to different parts of the world.
BIC Geneva: UN Member States raise concern about Bahá’ís during Iran’s Universal Periodic Review
At the recent UPR, a significant number of UN Members State raised concerns about the systematic persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
Immigration Resources
Information to help undocumented immigrants and churches ministering to them to know their rights.
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New primate installed for the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola
[Anglican Communion News Service] On Jan. 26 the Most Rev. Vicente Msosa was installed as primate of the Igreja Anglicana de Moçambique e Angola (IAMA), or the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola. He succeeds interim presiding bishop the Rt. Rev. Carlos Matsinhe. IAMA is the newest province in the Anglican Communion. It was inaugurated on Sept. 24, 2021, and was formed from two dioceses that had been part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The service was held at Centro de Conferências de Belas in Luanda, the capital of Angola. The Rt. Rev. Augusto Domingos, dean of the province, presided, and the sermon was given by the Rt. Rev. Dinis Sengulane, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Lebombo. The secretary general of the Anglican Communion, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, attended the installation service and welcomed the new primate. Msosa was born Feb. 18,1981, in Niassa Province in Mozambique. After completing secondary school, he studied to be a teacher, and he became involved in evangelism during his teaching career. He later studied theology at the College of Transfiguration in Grahamstown, South Africa. He is now a Ph.D. candidate in mission, leadership and development at Gordon Cornwell Theological Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts. He was ordained deacon in 2013 and priest in 2014. In 2017 he was elected bishop of the Diocese of Niassa, making him at the age of 35 the youngest bishop in the Anglican Communion at the time. In 2021 he was translated to the Missionary Diocese of Zambézia, where he has served to date. He was elected primate of IAMA in November 2024 and will hold the office for five years, after which he may renew his position. Msosa said, “Our call in such a critical time to such a critical role is to help IAMA province to respond to mission, evangelism and intentional discipleship. We are joining you all as Anglican churches and provinces around the world in sharing this common goal to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom, to teach, baptize and nurture new believers. We are deeply committed and convicted with the ‘five marks of mission,’ which begin with the preaching of the Gospel and the call to personal conversion embracing the whole of life. We are deeply convicted in spirit that God is calling us as a new province in such a troubled time like this to shepherd the province to “fear the Lord our God, walk in all his ways, love God, serve him wholeheartedly, keep the commandments and his decrees.’ Each member contributes to his kingdom with what she/he has.” Poggo said, “It is a blessing and an honor to attend this historic service of IAMA’s first presiding bishop. I am thankful to interim presiding bishop the Rt. Rev. Carlos Matsinhe and for the ministry of the Rt. Rev. Augusto Domingos as dean, who both have shown great leadership and grace. I will continue to pray for Presiding Bishop Vicente and the parishes of IAMA as they journey together on this new and exciting path.” Speaking of the installation, Provincial Secretary of IAMA the Rev. Carlos Respeito said, “It is an honor to be part of this significant event in our province. It is hoped that the work initiated will continue and further efforts will contribute to the growth and development of our province. We face many challenges ahead, and Archbishop Vicente Msosa, with his youth and energy, supported by all bishops, will achieve substantial progress in the province and the Communion.”