WCC releases Life and Work Digital Collection

The collection comprises more than 300 publications and up to 35,000 pages that embody more than 100 years of serious and sustained ecumenical reflection on ecumenical social ethics and action, since the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work in Stockholm in 1925. 

The WCC invites all to visit the collection, and to be inspired by a living legacy of the WCC’s work today for life, justice, and peace.  

“This is a unique collection of hundreds of documents representing a century of ecumenical social ethics and action, freely accessible online for research and scholarship,” said Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the WCC central committee. “The collection includes reports, conferences proceedings, study documents, pamphlets, and other material, including the process that led up to and followed the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work in Stockholm in 1925." 

The foundational documents in the collection tell the story of how Christian churches gathered to witness together on issues such as peace, economic justice, and the challenge of totalitarianism, as well as decolonization, human rights, climate justice, Christian faith and science and technology, and the world economy today. 

The Stockholm conference in 1925 was called into being by Archbishop Nathan Söderblom of Uppsala as a response to the carnage of the First World War and the need for the churches to play a central role in the rebuilding of society, and economic and political life as a sign in history of the coming kingdom of God. 

The conference gave birth to the Life and Work movement, which became an integral part of the WCC at its foundation in 1948, leading to the commitment of the WCC to issues such as human rights, decolonization, racial, gender, and economic and political justice, the challenges of science and technology, environmental ethics and climate justice.

“The Life and Work Digital Collection is a living legacy of the work that began in Stockholm under the leadership of Archbishop Söderblom to create a world that is more just and peaceful, a mandate that remains with us today,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. “We are profoundly grateful for the support that we received from the Lund Mission Society and the Church of Norway to make possible this collection, which we hope to continually update.”

Dr Samuel Rubenson, president of Lund Mission Society, said: ”By publishing the Life and Work archive, the World Council of Churches opens a giant window not only to some of the most decisive events that have shaped the political role of the churches worldwide, but also to how theology and the interpretation of the world has developed during the last one hundred years. A real treasure for students, scholars and church leaders all of the world of today.”

Most Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, Church of Norway presiding bishop, said that the unique collection comprises texts from the ecumenical movement’s substantial reflections, discussions, and contributions to peace and justice. “They represent a change in the history of the churches and their role in the world,” he said. “The fact that they now are available for anybody, is a great effort and gift to us all.”

Rev. Dr Benjamin Simon, academic dean of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey and director of the WCC Commission for Ecumenical Education and Formation, said that the new digital archives will open up opportunities for students and academics from all over the world to gain important insights into topics related to social ethics by working from their respective academic institutions. "They will obtain material for research that is relevant to their own careers and which will further enrich the legacy of the World Council of Churches,” he said.

Archbishop Martin Modeus, archbishop of the Church of Sweden, noted that the Church of Sweden has long been invested in the ecumenical movement. “Now, when we are celebrating 100 years since the Stockholm meeting, the birthplace for the Life and Work movement, we want to focus on where we are today and look forward,” he said. “But when doing so we have to have one leg firmly placed in history, to know where we come from and acknowledge those who came before us.”

The digital library makes it possible for students and researchers around the globe to share findings from the early Life and Work history, added Modeus. “I am very grateful for the WCC and those who have helped to make this project possible.”

Life and Work Digital Collection: A Century of Ecumenical Social Ethics and Action