The World Council of Churches (WCC) 75th anniversary celebration was joyous in the Ecumenical Centre on a hot June afternoon where ecumenical figures—young and old—reminisced on memorable occasions, highlighting with singing and happiness ruminating on their work.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has commemorated its 75th anniversary with an ecumenical celebration at Saint Pierre Cathedral in Geneva, recalling the founding of the WCC in Amsterdam in August 1948, three years after the end of the Second World War.
Sermon by the WCC moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm at the Ecumenical Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the WCC - Sunday Worship at Saint Pierre Cathedral, Geneva, 25 June 2023
World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, speaking at the WCC central committee meeting, focused on how the WCC can possibly address and respond to so many challenges in the world today.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting brings great joy, its moderator said, as its 148 members met at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva to discuss the governance of one of the planet's most diverse fellowship of churches.
Address of Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, at the WCC central committee meeting on 21-27 June 2023.
Sunday worship of the WCC central committee and local churches at Saint Pierre Cathedral in Geneva, celebrating 75 years of fellowship in the World Council of Churches.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee will convene at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, 21 – 27 June. Media accreditation is mandatory for access to open sessions, press conferences, briefings, and seminars – onsite, as well as online.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee will meet 21-27 June in its first meeting since the governing body was elected at the WCC 11th Assembly in 2022. The group will predominately focus on strategies and concrete measures for achieving goals staked out by the assembly. Turning priorities into actions in all programmatic areas and further strengthening the WCC’s influence on world affairs in a spirit of pilgrimage, reconciliation, and unity, are key objectives.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee will convene from 19-20 June to focus on preparations for the WCC central committee, which will meet on 21-27 June.
With the topics of the war in Ukraine and climate protection as the focal points, the 38th German Protestant Kirchentag takes place in Nuremberg, Germany from 7 to 11 June. The World Council of Churches’ presence in the Kirchentag’s exhibition space “Market of Opportunities” (hall 9, stand 9-C32) enables lively encounters and an opportunity to learn more about the ecumenical movement.
During the World Council of Churches (WCC) leadership delegation visit to Ukraine in May, an ecumenical prayer service was held in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on 12 May. The service, led by the WCC leadership, WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC moderator Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, with participation of members of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO), took place at St Andrew Orthodox Church in Bucha.
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee meeting opened on 22 May, WCC central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm offered remarks focusing on what the church can do for a world facing multiple crises.
Address of bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee at the WCC executive committee meeting on 22 May 2023.
World Council of Churches central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm delivered a lecture at the Kitzingen deanery, a regional church district near Würzburg, for the parishes of the deanery as well as for the public. The lecture, entitled “Just Peace through Military Force? Peace Ethical Considerations in Light of the War of Aggression against Ukraine,” was offered on 29 April
Lecture of the World Council of Churches central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm delivered at the Kitzingen deanery, a regional church district near Würzburg, Germany.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee will convene 22-26 May by video conference to conduct the regular business of the WCC for the first half of the year, and to review preparations for the central committee meeting 21-27 June in Geneva.
Against the background of the Russian invasion and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, a high-level WCC leadership delegation visiting Ukraine undertook an intensive series of consultations in Kyiv on 11 May 2023, with church leaders, Ukrainian government officials, and others.
A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Ukraine on 10-12 May to renew relations with churches and religious organizations and to explore possibilities of joint efforts to achieve just peace in Ukraine.
