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Wejryd, who serves as WCC president for Europe, offered heartfelt congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the National Council of Churches in Switzerland.
“Such an anniversary is a reason to celebrate,” he said. "It is a time to look back with gratitude for what has been achieved and a time to look ahead with vision for a ‘living ecumenism’ in Switzerland.”
Since its inception, 12 churches have found their way into membership with the council, and three more churches have guest status. “We are grateful for the breadth of the ecclesial togetherness of the churches in Switzerland,” said Wejryd. “The topics you are dealing with in the Swiss ecclesial landscape have certainly changed over the past 50 years.”
Traditional churches are changing, new churches are joining and the society is different, he noted. “This brings new theological insights and new social challenges,” he said. “By sitting together, sharing convivial togetherness and encountering each other, relationships are strengthened.”
Ecumenism is the art of encounter and the joy of praying together, Wejryd continued.
“Churches today face the temptation of marginalizing themselves,” he said. “As Christians, it is more important than ever that we stand close to each other and seek to speak together.”
The pandemic has sharpened our view on the challenges we face, Wejryd continued. “Our witness together, our living ecumenism, must offer hope through acts of love, reconciliation and healing,” he said.
Read the full message: Greetings to jubilee of National Council of Churches in Switzerland
