Courage to work together

We met as just under 30 representatives of specialised ministries and agencies connected to WCC with its staff from 28-29 April at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey for exchange on what is currently happening in the world, the agencies, WCC programmes, and how collaboration can be enhanced.

It’s always a blessing to be together with friends and colleagues from many ends of the ecumenical world. But especially so in times like these, when the first few months of 2025 have witnessed a significant shock to the global system of multilateralism as we know it. Governments’ priorities are shifting towards more nationalistic goals, whereas staff and volunteers of church ministries and organisations of development cooperation and the fragile humanitarian system are working hard to adjust to cuts in funding while keeping the support going for to those in need. 

Human rights, justice, love for the neighbour (near and far), and God’s creation are at the centre of this work. In response to the question of what the churches and faith-based communities are called to now, one answer was: moral courage. Grounded in our faith and the hope that springs from it, solidarity in action is deeply needed. Boldly imagining what a future in justice can look like and acting accordingly.

The ecumenical movement has been on this journey of working for dignity of all. (The 100-year anniversary of the Life and Work Conference in Stockholm this summer is just one reminder of how long already.) The world is still suffering. As the church and ecumenical movement with all its diverse actors, we can and need to creatively utilize the various gifts we have in order to live out God’s love. The church cannot let itself be limited by national borders but as a global fellowship is able to show how solidarity and cooperation can work towards justice and peace rather than perpetuation of an unjust system. 

The Ecumenical Year 2025 and its activities were points of encouragement for coming together and continuously developing and shaping the ecumenical movement. 

Remembering historic events is one side of the coin. But working on their impact and relevance in today’s world is the more interesting aspect. How do we walk the talk of a Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity when we are seeing deep division and violence around the world? 

How are we as churches and related agencies grappling with the history of colonialism and its ongoing painful impact on communities and believers around the globe? What is the antiracist ecumenical vision toward which we can all work? This will be addressed in a conference in Berlin in May 2025 organized by the WCC. 

These and more items will be part of the activities of the Ecumenical Year. To be fair, though, every year in the WCC is an ecumenical year. Other programme updates highlighted a multitude of activities that are enabling the movement and churches around the world in their work for justice.

Courage is needed when times are difficult, and uncertainties and fear might paralyze us. This year’s Working Together meeting highlighted for me that we surely have a difficult road ahead of us. But we are accompanying and are being accompanied, we are learning from and with each other, and only together we can change ourselves and our world. This sense of blessing travelled home with me. It will be an encouragement in what most likely will stay challenging times in the future.