Behind the news: Visions for peace - voices of faith

In response to the threatening global situation in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United States, the World Council of Churches (WCC), Action by Churches Together (ACT) and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance have agreed to set up a short-term response mechanism to share information with our broad church constituency with a particular focus on church voices and other alternative perspectives to the Northern media.

Specifically, this common mechanism is intended to:

• Discern and interpret the signs of the times from perspectives different than the dominant discourse, in particular from churches and ecumenical and inter-faith partners,

• To nurture hope and strengthen commitment for peace and justice,

• To give voice to those who suffer most and help them to cope in these times of crisis,

• To provide solid analysis and selected resources to strengthen ecumenical action and study,

• Eventually to propose common ecumenical actions.

While there is no shortage of information which is circulating in light of the attacks and US/international response, we thought it would be useful to offer as a service to our constituencies a selection of useful information, thought-provoking reflections, and worship resources which might aid in church responses to the unfolding situation.

Documents will be posted on a special section of the WCC website and a regular e-mail bulletin in English with links to the website will be distributed to our various networks. The website and the bulletins will be called Behind the news: Visions for peace - voices of faith. The bulletin will select and summarise statements, resources and actions and draw people to the website where the full versions of the documents will be made available.
The website's address will be http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/behindthenews.
To subscribe to the e-mail bulletin, contact: WCC Contact.

Given the dominance of Northern media in reporting developments, priority will be placed on circulating:

• Statements and action plans by churches, ecumenical bodies, and church-related organisations in other regions, particularly Asia and the Middle East;

• Analyses and reflections from members of our constituency which have not been widely shared, particularly those which offer alternative perspectives on the situation;

• Relevant analyses and reflections from representatives of other faith communities and from international organisations which provide fresh insights or new information of use to our constituency;

• Worship resources and theological reflections on the situation as it emerges.