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The sun was just setting over Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt when hundreds of protestors turned towards the main plenary hall of COP27 – the United Nations climate change conference – to raise their fists into the air, shouting ‘Pay up! Pay up! Pay up for loss and damage!’

Hosting a World Council of Churches (WCC) assembly is an enormous undertaking for the churches in the city and country in which it takes place. For the 11^th Assembly in Karlsruhe, the local and national churches and partners went even further.

As church bells resounded over Paralimni, Cyprus on Sunday, the congregation gathering at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint George welcomed into their midst representatives of a wide range of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches around the world.

With the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11^th Assembly less than four months away, the Church of Cyprus serves as host as the WCC brings Orthodox churches together for an Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly Consultation on 9-16 May.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, students, WCC staff, and friends gathered on 13 November to pray and sing together in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.

Die Gebete für die Einheit sahen dieses Jahr etwas anders aus und fühlten sich auch anders an, doch konnten ihnen die verbreiteten Einschränkungen von persönlichen Versammlungen nichts anhaben. Von Gebetsbildern über persönliche Besinnungen und von Online-Versammlungen zu neuen Verbindungen: Die Bilder aus der ganzen Welt zeugen von einem spirituellen Reichtum einer ökumenischen Familie, die sich im gemeinsamen Gebet vereinte.

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.

As we begin the year 2020, wildfires rage from the Arctic to Australia, icecaps melt, and fierce storms and floods lash our cities. This is already “the new normal.” Sean Hawkey, a photographer for ecumenical organisations including the World Council of Churches (WCC), selected photos from his archive as a reflection on a decade of work.