WORLD NEWS

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been awarded a Bridge Builder Award for building bridges of understanding between people, nations, and communities at national and international levels. The award is presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center.

The WCC was due to receive the award from the prime minister of Norway during a ceremony on August 25, together with His Excellency Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulkarim Al-issa of the World Muslim League and His Excellency Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior of the Religious Peace Initiative.

“The World Council of Churches is a powerful voice globally and a peacemaker and bridge builder between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with vast respect for all the world’s religions,” reads the award description from the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway and The Oslo Center. “It is time to send a clear peace message to the world by working even closer together to extinguish conflict and violence while raising the values of respect, love, and tolerance for each other that are all rooted in the three monotheistic religions.”

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC central committee, said that the WCC is grateful for being honoured for its efforts in an area that seems even more important in the face of the grave challenges facing today’s world. “We thank the 14th August Committee Norway and The Oslo Center for encouraging and recognising all kinds of interreligious dialogue, from quiet conversations on a local level to global agreements sewn through years of deep conversations,” she said.

The WCC, founded in the aftermath of World War Two, brings together 350 member churches (including the Church of Scotland) representing more than half a billion Christians in around 150 countries. (WCC)