WCC NEWS: WCC welcomes visitors from Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Athens College, Christian Council of Sweden

The World Council of Churches hosted 60 visitors during the week of 11-14 March. Visit of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Photo:Ivars Kupcis/WCC 18 March 2024 Bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, as they visited the Ecumenical Centre, received sincere words of appreciation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) for their strong commitment to the ecumenical movement. The Right Rev. Dr Tapio Luoma, an archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, is a member of the WCC central committee, as well as an ambassador for Thursdays in Black. Luoma and the other bishops received a welcome to the WCC as well as an introduction to the Strategic Plan 2023-2030. They discussed harvesting of the fruits of the WCC 11th Assembly, and how the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity serves as a guiding vision for the Strategic Plan. Also on their agenda were discussions on Finnish representation within the WCC governing bodies, as well as how the consensus methodology is an effective tool for decision-making for the WCC. Thirty-five students from the College of Athens visited the Ecumenical Center on March 14, 2023. Photo:Gloria Charles Students from Athens College received a guided tour of the chapel as well as the Ecumenical Centre. They listened to a general introduction to the WCC as well, exchanging insights and prayers with staff and with each other. During the same week, Esther Flores Sedman, head of Communication at the Christian Council of Sweden, joined the WCC Communication team to study the internal and strategic communications work. The Ecumenical Centre in Geneva will be closed for renovation from June 2024.  Link to the new folder Ecumenical Centre  Welcome to the Ecumenical Centre | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org) Visitors Programme  Visits to the WCC | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org) 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