The opening celebration of the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) brought together around 100 young theologians including students from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.
As Bishop Heike Springhart, bishop of the Landeskirche in Baden, looked out over the streets of Karlsruhe just before the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly began, she shared a sense of excitement. “The world is coming to Karlsruhe!” she said.
As the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly was set to begin, the city of Karlsruhe officially unfurled a flag of welcome on 25 August atop the Karlsruhe Palace tower, a unique local landmark beloved by many.
The 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which opens in Karlsruhe, Germany on 31 August, has been officially certified as an environmentally sustainable event as part of the European Commission’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, known as EMAS.
An Ecumenical Youth Gathering held 27 August helped to usher in the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly with a spirit of praying, dancing, and singing, as more than 200 young people drew together at St Stephen’s Church in Karlsruhe, Germany, to assert an inclusive assembly ahead.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September, under the theme "Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” German federal president Frank-Walter Steinmeier will deliver the keynote speech and the minister-president of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann will greet the assembly at the opening day 31 August.
Four World Council of Churches (WCC) pre-assemblies are about to convene, drawing hundreds of people eager to, in a safe space, share their honest reflections and life challenges. The pre-assemblies include Indigenous Peoples, Ecumenical Youth Gathering, Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network, and Just Community of Women and Men.
Dr Andrés Valencia is international president of the International Ecumenical Fellowship. Below, Dr Valencia reflects on the fellowship’s recent congress in Liverpool, and preparations for the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly.
For World Council of Churches 11th Assembly delegates and for other people around the world who want to get to the heart of the assembly, the WCC is offering a Resource Book full of both information and inspiration.
Peace prayers and a concert in South Korea on 27 July marked the lead-up to World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly while expressing the fervent hope for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed great joy over the election Rev. Dr Carmen Lansdowne as the 44th moderator of the United Church of Canada.
Bridging economics and theology, the 5th edition of the Ecumenical School on Governance, Economics and Management for an Economy of Life (GEM School) concluded on 8 July in Berlin, Germany.
Rev. Prof. Dr Heike Springhart is bishop of Landeskirche in Baden. Below, she offers reflections on her hopes for the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly and, more broadly, how ecumenical relationships can help us all sustain a sense of hope during these challenging times.
I believed Christian unity to be an ideal we strive for, perhaps analogous to the saying "if you shoot for the moon, you'll land in the stars." In the times I have seen Christian Unity manifest, often in times of prayer and most often when hands and feet are moving to answer prayer, it has been fleeting, almost illusory.
Oberkirchenrat Dr Marc Witzenbacher serves as coordinator of the local office of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. In this interview, he shares how the city is preparing to welcome visitors from all over the world.
Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber of the Evangelical Church in Germany, a member of the WCC central committee, reflects below on her hopes and prayers as the assembly draws ever-closer.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared greetings with the 37th Session of the World Student Christian Federation General Assembly, which will be held in Berlin from 23 June to 1 July.
Two months before the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, visited the Church Conference and Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany and informed them about the planning. Sauca also took part in the St John´s Reception of the Evangelical Church in Germany on 22 June.
Rev. Dr Jeffrey Carter, Church of the Brethren, is president of Bethany Theological Seminary. His reflections below were drawn from an interview after the confessional meeting with historic peace churches and the Moravians that occurred during the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting. Carter is a member of the central committee.
On the anniversary of Juneteenth, remembering the enslavement of African peoples in the United States and their emancipation announced in 1865, leaders from the World Council of Churches (WCC) urged an end to hate speech and to the sin of racism.
