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Interview
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Spiritual path to the WCC 11th Assembly continues with Holy Week Bible studies

As the series of Bible studies leading up to the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly continues, the focus moves to Holy Week and Easter. Below, Dr Ani Ghazaryan Drissi, WCC programme executive for the Faith and Order Commission, reflects on how churches, together, can focus on Holy Week in the context of of preparing for the assembly.

14 April 2022
Blog post
Bible in the Chapel of the Ecumenical Centre, sun shining on the page open with Isaiah 42

New Year’s resolutions: a biblical reflection

The year often begins with making firm resolutions, taken with earnestness and commitment. The following weeks and months are familiarly littered with broken promises and failures. Successful and consistent adherence to new years’ resolutions is, from my experience, rare. To change this pattern of failure, I look to the holy scripture for help.

05 January 2022
Blog post
Social card for the virtual celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, by CICU

Less COVID-19 cases, more “hope cases”

The Uruguayan Council of Christian Churches (CICU, by its Spanish acronym), the only ecumenical organization in the country, hosted an online gathering during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It took place last 26 May at 7:30pm (local time) via Zoom. I had the immense joy of participating as a Catholic communicator, currently serving as correspondent for SIGNIS ALC (Latin-American and Caribbean Association of Catholic Communication) and as vice president of SIGNIS Uruguay (the Uruguayan Association of Catholic Communicators).

02 June 2021
Blog post
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Week of Prayer brings fruits of the Spirit despite COVID-19

Prayer is a powerful way to be united as Christians from all over the world. Every year my church community in Cuba joins the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with daily devotions and a special worship service, usually on Sundays. Being connected in the same prayerful spirit around a common text that turns into so many testimonies of faith is truly a gift of the Spirit and an ecumenical commitment.

31 May 2021
Publication
Cover of the WCC publication "Voices of Lament, Hope and Courage"

Voices of Lament, Hope, and Courage

A Week of Prayer in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

To commemorate a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic, the World Council of Churches provides this resource for a week of prayer.

This book was designed as a resource for use in prayer groups, congregational services, personal prayer, and in the pastoral accompaniment of those directly affected in different ways by the pandemic. The prayers, messages, reflections, statistics and WCC resources have roots in faith challenged by mourning, fear and uncertainty in different contexts worldwide. 

18 March 2021
Blog post
music chart chapel

Remembering Patrick Matsinkinyiri (27 July 1937 – 15 January 2021)

Patrick Matsikenyiri was born in Biriri, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and died in Mutare, Zimbabwe near his home village a few kilometers from the border of Mozambique, as a result of complications due to the COVID-19 virus. His career included virtually all aspects of church music — singing, choral directing, composition, hymnal editor, festival leader, professor, and enlivener of global songs in venues around the world.

26 February 2021
Photo essay
Collage of some of the Week of Prayer pictures shared by Christians in different places

In pictures: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Prayers for unity took on a different look and feel this year, but they weren’t stopped by widespread restrictions on face-to-face gatherings. From prayer cards to personal reflections, online gatherings to new connections, the images worldwide convey the spiritual richness of an ecumenical family that came together in prayer.

01 February 2021
Interview
Youth participants lead a moment of prayer, through a dramatic choreography inviting gestures in interaction between the youth and other participants. Hundreds of people gather 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 at the very spot in which the organization was founded.

Rev. Dr David Emmanuel Goatley: “Pray that the Spirit will breath on the conversations”

A new weekly podcast series, “Pilgrimages of Striving and Thriving,” aims to draw wisdom from Black churches in the US through engaging conversations with pastoral leaders. The tone of the series, produced by Lott Carey, encourages transparency on how spiritual gifts interact with unique settings for ministry.

Below, Rev. Dr David Emmanuel Goatley, who cohosts the podcast, reflects on the path that led to the series, the response to the conversations so far, and hopes for future inspiration.

27 January 2021
Publication
Pilgrim Prayer Cover

Pilgrim Prayer

The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle

Pilgrim Prayer, the new edition of the ecumenical prayer cycle, is a unique resource for global spiritual solidarity. Connecting us each week with the unique gifts and challenges of a particular region and context, this spiritual practice creates an annual pilgrimage across the world in prayer, uniting us in the Spirit and in witness and service to justice and peace.

14 January 2021