Churches worldwide urged to pray for Zimbabwe
Churches worldwide are being invited to celebrate a day of prayer for Zimbabwe this coming Sunday, 22 June, as the beginning of a season of prayer for the people and government of the African country, which is facing a critical time. The day of prayer for Zimbabwe, which is an initiative of Christians in the country, will take place shortly before the runoff election for the presidency scheduled for Friday, 27 June. "It is impossible to overstate the importance of this election, its fairness, its outcome and its aftermath", said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia in a letter to the WCC member churches. "Events in the coming weeks will challenge the people of Zimbabwe and the world to find means of overcoming violence in the exercise of democracy, and the results will influence the future of the nation and the region", he adds. 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 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Source: WCC