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In a special greeting from the World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Dr Agnes Abuom expressed her thankfulness to the Church of Sweden and its members, for everything they have done for ecumenism.
Abuom particularly mentioned the impact of archbishop Nathan Söderblom, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930 for his work for peace, and who by many is regarded as the founder of modern ecumenism.
“His work sparked the creation of the World Council of Churches in 1948 in Amsterdam and has guided us onwards to what eventually has become a worldwide pilgrimage of justice and peace. This movement is a very important part of our work today”, Abuom explains.
In her greeting, which has been video-recorded in Swedish to be shown at a special gathering next week with all priests and deacons in the Diocese of Stockholm, Abuom relates to Jacob 2:1 in which we are reminded that all people are equal.
“God created us equal, but in today’s society God’s house has become divided and polarized. Instead of coming together, we are increasingly divided because of religion, race, class, etc. Jacob reminds us to build God’s house based on fairness and acceptance of each other, regardless of who we are. It doesn’t matter who – and what – you are, we are all created by God. His house will feel empty when all of us are not there as his equal children”, Abuom points out. In two years’ time the highest governing body of WCC gathers in Karlsruhe, Germany, for its assembly. By then, Abuom calls upon all delegates and visitors to reflect critically on their own identity, how we live and relate to one another.
“We must truly challenge to what extent God’s love is present in our society today”, Abuom concludes.
