WCC news: WCC will celebrate 80 years of United Bible Societies

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will celebrate 80 years of ministry from the United Bible Societies (UBS) by attending the UBS Fellowship Event from 7-11 May in Jakarta, Indonesia, to convey a congratulatory message from WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.  Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 8 May 2026 The theme of the UBS Fellowship Event is “A Legacy of Purpose, A Future of Possibility.” Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director of communication, will represent the WCC at the event, which will center around interconnected areas critical to UBS’s ongoing impact and future growth. It is expected to draw representatives from 156 Bible societies as well as global and national partners of UBS. An 80th Anniversary Celebration Banquet will be held on 11 May, the final evening of the UBS Fellowship Event.  Following the UBS Fellowship Event, Ejdersten will attend and serve as a panelist during the Patmos Global Summit for Bible Engagement from 12-15 May, also in Jakarta. Also present and participating will be Rev. Dr Henriette Hutabarat-Lebang, (Toraja Church), WCC president from Asia; Rev Dr Mery Kolimon, head of the Protestant Evangelical Church in Timor and a WCC central committee member; and Rev. Karen Erina Puimera (Protestant Church in Western Indonesia), moderator of the commission Young People in the Ecumenical Movement and a youth member of the WCC executive committee. The Patmos Global Summit will focus on the importance of Bible engagement, as well as goals and a call to action to learn and improve. The summit will be seen not as a final destination or a mere event, but as a first step into a long-term journey that could lead towards a global Bible engagement movement. "God’s Word for All God’s People" - Message on the Occasion of the UBS 80th Anniversary UBS Fellowship Event 2026 – Celebrating 80 Years of Ministry Patmos Global Summit for Bible Engagement 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 356 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 Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland