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The meeting opened with prayer and an acknowledgement of the traditional territories and Indigenous peoples, followed by welcomes from Rev. Janet Anstead, general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, and Rev. Prof. Dr Richard Topping, VST president and vice-chancellor.
WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay presented his vision for a WCC-wide PJRU framework, exploring how the pilgrimage can deepen its impact across WCC programmes, commissions, regional partners and member churches.
“The pilgrimage provides an integrating framework for all objectives that we have set aside for ourselves as the council”, said Pillay. “The key question that we have to ask ourselves at all times is how our work is contributing to justice, reconciliation, and unity.”
“WCC is one fellowship with many pilgrimages. We count on the engagement and support of this Reference Group to integrate the work of the fellowship into a Pilgrimage functionality”, added Pillay.
Rev. Karin van den Broeke, co-moderator of the WCC Pilgrimage Reference Group, expressed her thankfulness for the warm companionship. “It is impressive to hear how theology in the Vancouver School of Theology is informed and transformed by walking with indigenous people, and how walking together is transforming injustices done to indigenous peoples. And this 'walking together' is exactly what the pilgrimage is about”, she added.
The day concluded with a pilgrimage encounter at VST, during which participants learned about the context and legacy of the historic WCC 6th Assembly, held in Vancouver in 1983, and received an overview of Vancouver’s ecumenical landscape and theological education.
The meeting of the Reference Group continues until 22 September, with an agenda that integrates moments of close engagement with local processes of truth and reconciliation, alongside further work on the theological and methodological foundations of the PJRU.
WCC Pilgrimage Reference Group to gather in Vancouver (WCC news release, 15 September 2026)
Learn more about the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity
