Theology of Companionship - Foundations: Why Companionship Now?

Event

Theology of Companionship - Foundations: Why Companionship Now?

This opening session of the webinar series introduces the theological foundations of companionship and asks why this language matters for the churches today.

9 September, 15:00 (CET)
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In a world marked by fragmentation, violence, forced migration, ecological crisis, and deep inequalities, companionship invites churches to move beyond distant solidarity toward a more embodied practice of walking together.

The five-part series will show how the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity appears —through a lens of companionship— as a theological orientation and an ecclesial practice.

Participants will be invited to explore companionship as a deep yet understandable journey from theological foundations to practical implementation. The series will move through five themes: foundations, method, ethics, context, and implementation.

“Why Companionship Now? Biblical and Ecumenical Foundations,” will be led on 9 September by Prof. Dr Fernando Enns, from the Church Association of Mennonite Congregations in Germany. Subsequent sessions will examine companionship as a pilgrimage practice; the ethical challenges of power and asymmetry; contextual expressions of companionship; and pathways for translating the toolkit into education, formation, and lived church practice.

The session will explore companionship as a theological and spiritual orientation within the Pilgrimage for Justice, Reconciliation and Unity. It will consider how companionship reshapes the way churches understand presence, mutual accountability, vulnerability, and hope. Rather than treating companionship as a general expression of friendship or cooperation, the session will ask how it becomes a way of discerning God’s presence among communities that suffer, resist, heal, and seek transformation.

Participants will be invited to reflect on what it means for churches to accompany one another across differences of context, power, history, and experience. The session will set the tone for the whole series by showing how companionship can serve as a theological lens for the pilgrimage journey and as a practical guide for ecumenical engagement.

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WCC launches webinar series on Theology of Companionship (WCC news release, 13 August 2026)