9 - Churches and Peace

• Reconciliation - Making up after a disagreement
• Ecumenical - Different denominations working together
• Persecution - Persistently cruel treatment, often due to religion or belief
• World Council of Churches -

  • This is part of the ecumenical movement and is a worldwide fellowship of churches seeking unity and reconciliation between denomination
  • Its symbol is a cross on a boat. The ship represents the church which is afloat on the sea which stands for the world. The cross guides them
  • It holds a special week of prayer for Christian unity every year
  • It encourages local churches to pray and worship together
  • It campaigns to stop the spread of HIV and to get health treatment for victims
• Interfaith Wales -

  • Interfaith Wales wants to strengthen co-operation between faith communities
  • It was set up after 9/11 to promote better understanding between communities
  • It organises an Interfaith Week every November where religious communities hold events in places of worship, local halls and schools
  • The aim is to educate about religion
• Christians-Muslim Forum -

  • This works to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims
  • It was launched in 2006 by the Archbishop of Canterbury to help Christians and Muslims live in harmony
  • It promotes twinning of churches and mosques to create friendship
  • They work together to improve society such as trying to prevent hate crime
• Persecution of Christians: Open Doors

  • Jesus said 'You will be hated by all because of my name', which means following him will bring persecution
  • 100 million Christians in the world today face persecution for their faith
  • Open Doors is a charity that works to help persecuted Christians
  • It raises awareness of their situation and distributes Bibles