WCC News: WCC “source of hope in this world,” says WCC moderator

Reflecting on “the experience of the one world” within the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee which is convening in Abuja, Nigeria, from 8-14 November, WCC moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said that the gathering brings him great hope. Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee at the WCC executive committee meeting convening in Abuja, Nigeria on 8-14 November. Photo: Marianne Ejdersten/WCC 08 November 2023 “For me, this experience is the one big source of hope in this world struck by division, polarization, injustice, and violence,” he said. “In addition to ongoing global economic and ecological injustices and in addition to the war following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, we are now witnessing an outbreak of violence in the Middle East, which generates terrible human suffering on both sides every day and has led to a deepening of global polarization.” He also noted that this polarization is fired up by a propaganda war, which makes it more and more difficult to discern fake news from facts. “The ecumenical movement must be a counterforce to these forces of divisiveness,” he said. “We have committed ourselves to engage in a Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity.” We are all shaped by our own contexts, he noted. “Of course we bring with us the struggles of our peoples,” he said. “And sometimes we find ourselves on different sides in these struggles and yet are connected in our common faith in Jesus Christ.”  The WCC executive committee is meeting to to approve plans and a budget for 2024, and to further develop the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. The WCC governing body will also monitor 2023 and the implementation of WCC strategies.  Moderator's address at the WCC executive committee in Abuja, Nigeria WCC executive committee will meet in Nigeria with eye on Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity (WCC news release, 02 November 2023) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland