WCC NEWS: Churches and partners unite against modern slavery through new global Lent resource

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in partnership with the Church of England’s The Clewer Initiative (TCI), is launching a groundbreaking Lent resource addressing modern slavery. This resource aligns with WCC Churches' Commitment to Children, supporting churches and partners in their efforts to strengthen protection against exploitation. 04 December 2023 The Lent resource helps communities respond to modern slavery, which affects around 50 million people globally. According to Anti-Slavery International, the number of children in modern slavery is over 12 million, with an increase of 2 million in 2022. Climate-induced disasters such as flooding and droughts raise children’s vulnerability to trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. "This resource is an important contribution from the WCC in partnership with The Clewer Initiative in addressing the challenge of modern slavery,” stresses Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, who was involved in the conceptualisation of the resource. Structured around Galatians, the resource offers weekly explorations with Bible reflections, discussion questions, modern slavery facts, global case studies, and actionable points that can be tailored to national and regional contexts worldwide.  The idea for this project came up in January 2023 during a conversation between WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and Bishop Alastair Redfern. It expands on the partnership between WCC and TCI, which started in 2020 as part of Churches' Commitments to Children. The project is inspired by successful pilot runs in Ghana, Tanzania, and Italy in collaboration with the national councils of churches. “The resource deepens awareness of the responsibilities of Christians to address the root causes of the injustices and vulnerabilities which push people into modern slavery. For churches, congregations, and individuals, it is important to understand how the prevalence of modern slavery is also increasing as a result of global warming,” said Frederique Seidel, WCC programme executive for Child Rights, directly involved in facilitating the work on the resource.  A webinar is planned for January 2023 to support the dissemination of the resource by churches to their congregations and partners.  For further information, interviews, or inquiries, contact churchesforchildren@wcc-coe.org. Find the resource here WCC Churches' Commitment to Children See more

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 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland