With gratitude to the ecumenical family

In 2020, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit moved on from his position as general secretary of the WCC to become presiding bishop of the Bishops’ Conference of the Church of Norway. I write these words as acting general secretary, a position I will hold until the end of December 2022, to ensure continuity in WCC leadership through the WCC 11th Assembly.

Our experiences together during 2020—though much of that “togetherness” occurred online—certainly brought unexpected challenges. The pandemic led the WCC to postpone its central committee meeting originally planned for March 2020, to take place online in June 2021. The WCC executive committee has sought and shaped new ways of convening online to keep the fellowship of churches moving forward together on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. But through these challenges, our experiences also brought unexpected blessings, not least in how we have come to work even more closely than before with our sisters and brothers in regional ecumenical organisations.

As I see how grassroots communities are working together to heal a wounded world, I find hope. As I see compassionate and concrete acts of love carried out in solidarity, I find hope. As I see how we have deeply internalized the view of ourselves as one human family, I find hope.

As we journey on our pilgrimage together as a global fellowship of churches, we are called to seek and to sustain hope, even when times of fragility may lead us to doubt ourselves, and as we may struggle to summon energy to care for our neighbours in every direction, and to care for creation.

During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused profound suffering around the world. Millions have died, and many more are suffering. We have mourned the losses in our own ecumenical fellowship. Our ecumenical fellowship has been pained both personally and professionally. We had to temporarily close the Bossey Hotel and Conference Centre and restructure some of the programmatic work in the WCC. We were all so accustomed to serving our member churches in person, as we strive to foster interreligious and intercultural dialogue, learn from diverse communities, and pray together.

But we have found ways to draw together the worldwide fellowship, to face together the often puzzling twists and turns on the path. We not only kept going—but we grew amid our suffering, and we found a vision for the future amid our losses. And our losses were many. We mourned the lives of so many in the ecumenical family, lost to COVID-19 and other causes.

We pray for their families and their loved ones. 

The WCC 2020 Annual Review, with the theme “Sustaining Fellowship in Extraordinary Times,” tells the story of how the WCC kept moving forward. Through online prayer services, meetings, webinars, podcasts, publications, and storytelling, we shared the experiences of WCC member churches. We learned from each other that human values are not only compatible with our unique faith identities but enhance them.

May we continue our journey together in faith, hope, and love.

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca

WCC acting general secretary