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#WCC70: From ecumenical seeds

A conversation on the way home to Chile from the WCC 4th Assembly planted an ecumenical seed that grew into a wonderful experience of Christian unity – the partnership agreement between the Pentecostal Church of Chile and the United Church of Christ.

#WCC70: Nathan Söderblom, ecumenical pioneer

The archbishop Dr Nathan Söderblom, an ecumenical forerunner and messenger of peace in war-torn Europe, challenged a deeply divided Christianity 100 years ago. Against all odds, the Stockholm Conference on Life and Work in 1925 gathered church leaders at a scale the world had not seen since Nicaea 1600 years earlier. And it did not end there.

Service versus hospitality: why we should care about the difference

Serving others is something many faith communities put as a priority. But being hospitable to others puts service on a whole new level. In remarks at a youth symposium on 23 August at the Protestant Theological University in Amsterdam, Rev. Najla Kassab, president of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, reflected on “Hospitality on a Pilgrim’s Way of Justice and Peace.”

#WCC70: The life-changing gift of serving as a steward

By his own admission, John D. Lewis was a very “young” eighteen-year-old when he arrived at the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva 45 years ago this week to be a steward. What he discovered there, and serving again in Berlin the following year, he carries with him to this day.

Pilgrims gather from far and wide to celebrate 70 years of WCC

Hundreds of people gathered from across the world for an ecumenical prayer service at the Nieuwe Kerk, a 15th-century church in Amsterdam, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the very spot in which the organization was founded.

“Love will find a way”

World Council of Churches leaders spoke on the theme “Hospitality: On a Pilgrim’s Way of Justice and Peace" at a symposium on 23 August at the Protestant Theological University Amsterdam.

#WCC70 Amsterdam, 1948 (1): Covenanting in prayer

Dam Square, Amsterdam, 22 August, 03:00 PM. A considerable crowd is gathered outside the New Church, which unlike its name may suggest was built at the end of the 14th century and dedicated in 1409. The weather has improved after a grey morning of low clouds and light rain.

90 faces of WCC: 1948-2018

Move through the lobby of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, and you will “walk” with some 90 faces, the people who tell, at least in part, the story of the World Council of Churches (WCC) over 70 years. On large panels, an exhibition of photos and phrases features people who have, in diverse ways, helped form the many facets of the WCC and the ecumenical movement.

#WCC70: Fellowship of women and men – with ups and downs

I have experienced many good stories with the WCC, but unfortunately disappointing ones as well, says Rev. Dr Margot Käßmann, Lutheran theologian and former chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany. She was a member of the WCC Central and Executive Committees for many years, until her resignation in 2002. The story she contributed for the WCC 70th anniversary commemoration looks back to the 1998 WCC Assembly in Harare, which marked the end of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women.

#WCC70: Prayers and songs to commemorate WCC’s 70th anniversary

Prayers and songs are available for use during the WCC anniversary, whether on 23 August – which marked the opening of the 1st Assembly in Amsterdam and the formal constitution of the WCC – or on another day during this anniversary year. Praying together is a powerful source of unity, says WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.