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Bossey alumni meeting at the WCC 11th Assembly

Bossey reunion at the 11th assembly

It was one of the first days of the 11th assembly when I met an old Bossey friend. We had not seen each other for 24 years, although it felt we met yesterday. We shared memories of our Graduate School of Ecumenical Studies in Bossey in 1998 and remembered the names of our friends. We spoke about Bossey as a life-changing experience for both of us.

13 September 2022
Blog post
hand playing piano

What will we hear?

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. 

30 June 2022
Blog post
Rev. Jebin Thankaraj and Cardinal Kurt Koch

Study trip to Rome testifies that ecumenical engagements can move forward

Our successful visit to Rome with various ecumenical deliberations itself testifies that ecumenical engagements can move forward despite the pandemic. The launch of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity document “Ecumenism in a Time of Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunity,” followed by an ecumenical panel discussion, helped us to understand how different churches have approached the pandemic. 

10 February 2022
Blog post
GETI 2018 material

Bethany Seminary students creatively explore hospitality in the neighborhood—and across the world

These days, we are all swimming in the murky waters of theological, political, and social division. Swamped by waves of conflict and pulled down by undercurrents of dysfunction, it is reasonable to fear for the future of our communities of faith. But that’s not the end of the story. As president of Bethany Theological Seminary, an agency of the Church of the Brethren, I have found a deep, clear reservoir of hope in the witness and work of our students and alumni.

04 August 2021
Blog post
IMG_4869.JPG

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
Blog post
Bossey chapel

Reflection from a Bossey graduate on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

At the end of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, even though we could not be in Rome as we had hoped, my fellow students at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Bossey Ecumenical Institute and I were thrilled to be able to participate online with two services: the WCC’s Global Ecumenical Prayer and the Vatican’s Vespers for the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul live from the Basilica of St Pauls Outside-the-Walls. Both services reflected on a reading from John 15 – from which was taken this year’s Week of Prayer theme: “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit.”

29 January 2021
Event

20 years since the Ecumenical Decade in Solidarity with Women

01 - 06 October 2018

In the context of the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches, the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace and the 2030 sustainable development agenda, an international consultation will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the WCC’s Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988-1998). The consultation will reflect on the achievements and challenges in building a just community of women and men and to strengthen ecumenical collaboration in reading the signs of our times in order to map the future direction of our work.

Kingston, Jamaica
Event
Prayer service marks the WCC's 50th anniversary in Amsterdam, 1998. Photo: Peter Williams/WCC

WCC 70th anniversary in Amsterdam

23 August 2018

During a 23 August service in the Netherlands in the Nieuwe Kerk, a 15th-century church in Amsterdam, World Council of Churches leaders will celebrate the WCC’s 70th anniversary at the very spot in which the organization was founded.  A “Walk of Peace” through Amsterdam, and a symposium under the theme “Hospitality on a pilgrim's way to peace and justice”, at the Vrije Universiteit, will also be held on the same day.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Event
YATRA 2017. Photo: Carrie Grace Littauer/WCC

Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity

07 - 20 July 2018

YATRA (Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity) is an inter-religious training programme of the WCC. The intensive training course, held annually since 2014, seeks to enable young Christian leaders from Asian churches to contribute towards the building up of just, harmonious and peaceable communities by equipping them for ministries of justice and peace from an inter-religious perspective.

Hong Kong
Event
Prof. Dr Esther Mombo, CEEF vice-moderator, and Prof. Dr Rudolf von Sinner, moderator of the CEEF. © Marcelo Schneider/WCC

Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation meeting

09 - 13 October 2017

The Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation (CEEF) is the WCC's primary advisory body for the whole area of education, ecumenical formation and faith nurture. The CEEF develops priorities and methodologies in these areas, fosters networking, exchange and collaboration among ecumenical institutions and experts in the area of ecumenical formation.

Cluj, Romania
Event
A street pastor reaches out to young people in the Danish port of Esbjerg.

Mission in Secularized Contexts

22 - 26 February 2016

Participants from different regions and Christian traditions will analyze together the challenges to mission in secularized contexts. They will discuss relevant passages of the mission statement Together Towards Life and work together on strategies and approaches to address this situation ecumenically – also drawing on the presence and vital witness of Christian communities of migrants.

Hungary