WCC NEWS: Bridge Builder Awards recognize Christian, Muslim and Jewish peacemakers who stand together to help the world

As the Bridge Builder Awards were presented in a ceremony in Oslo on 22 November, interreligious peacemakers stood together to be recognized for their vital work in raising the values of respect, love, and tolerance for each other. World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, here pictured at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, is one of the representatives present in Oslo on 22 November to receive the Bridge Builder Award. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 22 November 2021 The award was presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center. In welcoming remarks, Aamir Javed Sheikh, president of the 14th of August Commitee in Oslo, said that this is not and has never been a battle between the Jews and the Christians, Christians against the Muslims or Muslims against the Jews. “But this has been a struggle between us who want to stand together and build bridges, and those who want to create divisions and hatred between us,” said Sheikh. “”It is our job to fight for a world that sees you for who you are and not just the God you worship.” Sheikh said it is our job to fight for an everyday life where your faith should not be a reason to fear for your life. “It is simply our task to shape a world where respect, dialogue and tolerance are central.” As World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca accepted a Bridge Builder Award, he shared the WCC’s approach to interreligious peacemaking.  “We are aware that almost all the world’s steepest challenges have an interreligious dimension,” said Sauca. “Whether we are addressing international affairs, the environment, global economic justice, the rights of women and children, racism, the needs of refugees, and not least the task of theological education within our churches, in all these and other aspects of our work we seek to keep today’s interreligious realities in mind.” World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca receives the bridge builder award in Oslo, Norway, 22 November 2021. Photo: screenshot from livestream by the 14th August Committee Norway Sauca also expressed deep appreciation for His Excellency Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulkarim Al-issa of the World Muslim League and His Excellency Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior of the Religious Peace Initiative, who also received the Bridge Builder Award. “Wherever possible, we also seek to cooperate with our partners from other religious communities as well as with our many Christians partners, deepening the interreligious cooperation for the good of the wider world,” said Sauca. “In our globalized situation, our work in interreligious dialogue, cooperation and peacemaking holds the prospect of a genuine fraternity among religious communities to address conflicts but also to prevent them, to make and keep peace but also to root it in the hearts of people.” Nonetheless, the challenges posed by interreligious encounter also push us to address many tough questions, Sauca added. “We cannot pretend that the path of interreligious dialogue, cooperation and peacemaking is an easy one,” he said. “But this is where God calls us to go, trusting in God’s accompaniment of us, and in God’s good purposes for the whole of creation.” In closing remarks, H.E. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, congratulated the winners of the Bridge Builder Award. “COVID-19 has highlighted just how important it is that the global community works to promote peace and understanding,” he said. “The pandemic has exposed the fault lines in our world and deepened divisions,” he said. “If there’s one lesson we have learned, it’s the lesson of interconnectedness.” As has been said many times, he added, no one is safe until everyone is safe. “As faith leaders you play a vital role in promoting the values in your own communities and around the world.” The WCC receives the 2021 Bridge Builder Award together with His Excellency Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulkarim Al-issa of the World Muslim League and His Excellency Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior of the Religious Peace Initiative. Read full speech by Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca (available in English, French, German, Spanish and Arabic) For all speeches, watch livestream from the event Bridge Builder Award ceremony 2021 WCC honored with Bridge Builder Award 2021 (WCC press release of 2 July 2021) 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 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. 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

MEDIA ADVISORY: Bridge Builder Award Cemony 2021

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is receiving a Bridge Builder Award for building bridges of understanding between people, nations, and communities at national and international levels. The award is presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center. "Journey Towards Peace", by Deborah Stockdale, Ireland. This quilt was commissioned especially for an exhibition to reflect the themes of overcoming violence and movement towards a peaceful society. It was inspired by the stained glass window at the WCC Geneva headquarters. Photo: Nikos Kosmidis/WCC 22 November 2021 The prize was announced by Aamir Sheikh, leader of the 14th of August Commitee in Oslo, together with the Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Center, Kjersti Fløgstad, on Friday 2 July. Bridge Builder Award - is awarded by the 14th of August Committee Norway to persons and institutions who have contributed to building bridges across individuals, nations and societies, both in Norway and internationally. This year, the prize goes to three of the world’s most important, religious leaders and heads of the large, monoteistic religions: HE Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, HE Michael Melchior, Chief Rabbi and leader of The Religious Peace Initiative in Israel and Muslim leader HE Muhammad Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa. “The World Council of Churches is a powerful voice globally and a peacemaker and bridge builder between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with vast respect for all the world's religions,” reads the award description from the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway and The Oslo Center. “It is time to send a clear peace message to the world by working even closer together to extinguish conflict and violence while raising the values of respect, love, and tolerance for each other that are all rooted in the three monotheistic religions.” The award comes at the time when the WCC is celebrating 50 years of nurturing and cultivating interreligious dialogue.  Learn more about the award: WCC honored with Bridge Builder Award 2021 | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org) Bridge Builder Award to religious leaders | Nobel Peace Center Award ceremony in brief: - Welcome by Mr. Aamir Javed Sheikh, President - Moderated by HE Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik, Former Prime Minister of Norway - Music performance by The Arab Choir of the Catholic University - Speech by H.E. Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary general of the Muslim World League - Speech by World Council of Churches, H.E. Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca, Acting General Secretary - Speech by Religious Peace Initiative, H.E. Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior, President - Music performance by Michael Ochs - Speech by H.E. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO - Speech by H.E. Mr. Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Music performance Ben Adams The 22-November award ceremony is available by livestream from 6:30 PM (CET). Event starts 22 November 2021 - 19:00 Event ends 22 November 2021 - 22:30 Location Oslo Learn more Livestream For further questions, you are most welcome to contact: Marianne Ejdersten, WCC Director of Communication,  mej@wcc-coe.org,  +41 79 507 6363. or: Claus Grue, WCC Communication Consultant and Media Coordinator,  clg@wcc-coe.org, +46 70 611 0977. 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 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. 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

WCC NEWS: WCC honored with Bridge Builder Award 2021

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is receiving a Bridge Builder Award for building bridges of understanding between people, nations, and communities at national and international levels. The award is presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center. Religious leaders from several traditions at a symbolic bridge of hope in the interfaith prayer and memorial service in the Keizersgrachtkerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Sponsored by the WCC, the service was held on the first day of the 2018 International AIDS Conference. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/WCC 02 July 2021 The WCC will receive the award from the prime minister of Norway during a ceremony on 25 August together with His Excellency Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulkarim Al-issa of the World Muslim League and His Excellency Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior of the Religious Peace Initiative. “The World Council of Churches is a powerful voice globally and a peacemaker and bridge builder between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with vast respect for all the world's religions,” reads the award description from the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway and The Oslo Center. “It is time to send a clear peace message to the world by working even closer together to extinguish conflict and violence while raising the values of respect, love, and tolerance for each other that are all rooted in the three monotheistic religions.” Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC central committee, said that the WCC is grateful for being honored for its efforts in an area that seems even more important in the face of the grave challenges facing today’s world. “We thank the 14th August Committee Norway and The Oslo Center for encouraging and recognizing all kinds of interreligious dialogue, from quiet conversations on a local level to global agreements sewn through years of deep conversations,” she said. The award is both a great recognition of the work of the WCC and a great honor, said Abuom. "The symbolism of a bridge and its building is powerful,” she said. “A bridge cannot be built by a single person. It requires people agreeing to work together. Further, a bridge is a vehicle of communication, connection and movement to and fro— a vehicle needed so much during this pandemic when we cannot move both ways.” WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca noted that the award comes at the time when the WCC is celebrating 50 years of nurturing and cultivating interreligious dialogue.   “In today’s world, we can show, in a profound way, what we can do together as people of different faiths to create a society where we live peacefully side by side,” said Sauca. “We are bound to each other in universal kinship through God, the source of our being and wellbeing.” A summary of the previous Bridge Builder Award events (2003 –2020) is available at: www.14augustkomiteen.no and www.foundationdialogueforpeace.com. WCC's work on Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation WCC's work on Peace-building, Conflict transformation & Reconciliation Photo gallery on the WCC's interreligious work 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 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. 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