WCC FEATURE: During visit to WCC, Episcopal officer Rev. Dr Kirsten L. Guidero reflects on deepening engagement

Rev. Dr Kirsten L. Guidero serves as ecumenical and interreligious officer for the Division of Public Policy, Partnership, and Witness for the Episcopal Church. She visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) and came away with inspiration and ideas for deepening engagement and collaboration in many ways. Photo: Pauline Tête/WCC 08 July 2026 “I am here because I am new in my role as the point person for ecumenical and interreligious relations for the Episcopal Church, and the WCC is the premier organisation that is leading the way for Christians internationally to engage in that work,” she explained. “The historic presence and projects of the WCC are very important for us to connect, and to figure out how we can continue to invigorate our cooperation, our collaboration, and involvement with those projects as they continue to evolve.” Guidero received an overview of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, Faith and Order, the WCC structure, anti-racism programmes, Just Community of Women and Men, spiritual life, and many other topics. “We’re excited to see how we can collaborate more,” she said. “I think knowing a little bit more about what each person is doing is really important because then I can follow up directly.” Guidero plans to connect lay and clergy volunteers from the Episcopal Church into WCC initiatives. “And then I can also find other members of staff on the Episcopal Church to share some of these conversations so that more people can be involved, more of our church centre offices involved, and can spread a little bit wider to bring in more clergy and lay volunteers across the Episcopal Church,” she said. “We want to make sure that we can take a full advantage of all these resources and see what happens when we incorporate them in the spaces in which we are.” Guidero expressed particular excitement about the ways in which the Episcopal Church is an international church body with Spanish-speaking dioceses and parishes, a presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Taiwan, and in Europe. “There are many, many, many possibilities for us to be involved, not just in the United States,” she said. “There are many ways that those folks can be involved as well.” Guidero also expressed appreciation for the opportunity to have an in-person visit. “It's a wonderful gift to be able to have been given the time and the funding to come here, so that we can help anchor this continued digital format that these relationships will continue to take form in,” she said. “The value of being able to be in person instead of only digital is really key to think about.” 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