From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


WCC NEWS: Churches launch major humanitarian alliance


From "WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>
Date Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:01:05 +0100

>World Council of Churches - News

>CHURCHES LAUNCH MAJOR HUMANITARIAN ALLIANCE

>For immediate release: 24 March 2010

The ACT Alliance, bringing together over 100 church-backed
relief and
development organizations worldwide, has been formally launched
on 24
March with celebrations in Geneva and around the world.

The new ACT Alliance is one of the world’s largest
humanitarian bodies
working in 125 countries with a combined budget of 1.5 billion
US dollars.
It provides emergency food aid, shelter, water and sanitation
facilities,
and poverty reduction programmes in the world's poorest
countries.

The new body is a merger of the disaster relief network ACT
International
and its sister organization ACT Development.

Both ACT International, established in 1995, and ACT Development
(2007)
were created through the leadership of the World Council of
Churches
(WCC). The two bodies coordinated the work of agencies related
to the
member churches of the WCC and the Lutheran World Federation in
the areas
of humanitarian emergencies and poverty reduction respectively.

Through ACT, the worldwide fellowship of churches has been at
the forefront
of life-saving work in Haiti since 12 January, the day a
massive
earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince. On that day nine

ACT

organizations were operating in Haiti and able to begin relief
efforts
immediately.

ACT’s global strength means it was also able to assist
survivors of the
Chile earthquake six weeks later.

>Acts of justice, a form of worship

"The work for another and better world is an intrinsic part of
the worship
of the Church to God. When we are doing the acts of justice, the
acts of
peace, and the acts of feeding the hungry we are doing the acts
that
magnify God, because these acts magnify the dignity of each
human being,"
WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said in his
sermon at the
prayer service at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland,
on 24
March.

Tveit added that "the ACT Alliance is a genuine expression of
the
ecumenical movement, the call to be one so that the world can
believe that
God is a loving and caring God for all humankind."

The service, which was attended by staff of ACT and WCC as well
as other
humanitarian and church-related organizations, celebrated the
formation of
the new alliance. The launch was also celebrated by the members
of the new
alliance with local events on every continent.

The alliance works for the world’s poorest people, fighting
the causes of
human suffering and injustice. ACT members are long-standing
organizations
already working in the communities. When disaster strikes,
these
organizations are ready to work and are at the forefront of the
emergency
response.

At the central event in Geneva, ACT Alliance general secretary
John Nduna
said the creation of the alliance provides the opportunity "to
better link
emergency humanitarian assistance and sustainable development."

"When the emergency is over, and the funds run out, churches
continue to be
present; they are the organization at the end of the street or
village,
which remains when all others have gone," Nduna pointed out.
"The ACT
Alliance, with our faith to guide us and the continued support
of all our
partners and friends to sustain our work, can continue to bring
relief to
the needy, support to the oppressed and development to the
impoverished."

Full text of the WCC general secretary's sermon 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=7655 

>ACT Alliance website
>http://www.actalliance.org 

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 Olav Fykse
Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland.


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home