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These pilgrims are laughing a lot. After intensely debating everything from church unity to the very meaning of the word “pilgrimage” last week, some members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee embarked on a three-hour hike on Sunday afternoon that revealed the not-so-serious side of the WCC governing body.
As they walked – the “long way around,” according to the hike guide – from the Bonmont Abbey to the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, they told jokes, gently poked fun at the differences between their faith traditions, and grew closer in spirit through walking kilometre after kilometre together. Gathering in the abbey – which was founded between 1110 and 1120 and is considered one of Switzerland's national monuments – they shared a prayer and set off on a path that would tire their feet while correspondingly increasing their joy.
While they walked, they sang a hymn (after, in true WCC Central Committee fashion, taking some time to “come to consensus” on this one):
Walking in the light of God, we are walking in the light of God.
Praying in the light of God, we are praying in the light of God.
Their chorus fragmented as they veered into the forest onto a single-file path, suddenly dodging puddles. Softly, two voices piped an impromptu verse:
Walking on the muddy path, we are walking on the muddy path.
And the group broke into laughter.
Into the ecumenical trees
They began contemplating what to call the day's pilgrimage. “Ecumenism in the forest,” suggested the Rev. Stephen Kendall, principal clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. As a dozen people miss a turn on the path, they are waved back in the right direction by the guide.
“Ah, we might have to revise our definition of 'pilgrimage' once again,” smiled Kirsten Auken of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. “If I go one way and you go another, are we still on a pilgrimage together?”
They told stories of their homelands, finding they share very similar feelings of missing their own communities, no matter how different those communities are. They marveled at the beauty of the Swiss countryside as they walked through forests, farmland and roads, greeting runners on the Swiss Jura Nature Trail.
“We have been pilgrims through such different landscapes today,” marveled the Rev. Gregor Henderson from the Uniting Church in Australia. “Where I come from, we'd have to walk 200 kilometres to see such a change of scenery.”
They agreed that the sunny, clear weather was a gift. “This weather, it reminds me of Ghana,” said the Rev. Emma Essie Dzoe Sepah of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ghana. A pilgrimage, she said, might be peaceful but it also takes considerable effort. “It's something you must embrace in your lifestyle, in your attitude. It is a Christ-like attitude to see everybody as God's creation and even nature as God's creation.”
As they approach the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, the doors open, and people inside begin cheering their arrival.
“You made it!” someone exclaims, and the others hook elbows and put their hands on each other's shoulders as they echo: “Yes, we made it. Together, we made it.”
More about the WCC Central Committee
High resolution photos available via photos.oikoumene.org
