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.
During a service of remembrance and celebration in the Ecumenical Centre Chapel on 24 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee commemorated the lives, witness and ministry of Rev. Robina Winbush and Rev. Norman Tendis.
After 157 people perished when an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on 10 March soon after taking off near Addis Ababa, the World Council of Churches expressed deep sympathy and extended prayers for those who lost loved ones.
Five of the world’s major arms exporters are among a group of mostly European countries ratifying the world’s first Arms Trade Treaty today, 2 April, a year after the treaty was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit emphasized close links between the biblical understanding of peace and a “harmonious society” in which all citizens are valued. Tveit was speaking at the 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, held from 20 to 22 November in Vienna, Austria.
