Spiritual life

Prayer and Bible study lay the foundation for all that the WCC member churches do together to fulfil their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are an integral part of meetings and programmes organized by the WCC and activities at its Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

In common prayer, people from different cultural, racial, social, theological, and liturgical backgrounds are united in spirit, even if they are praying in different places. Thus, the fellowship of God’s people is manifested and strengthened.

The WCC develops and gathers materials for prayer, and encourages theological reflection on the significance of prayer in ecumenical contexts.

Prayers for all and with all churches are probably the oldest expression of the longing for Christian unity, including the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with its more than 100 years of history. Since 1966, when the WCC Faith and Order secretariat began jointly publishing material for this Week of Prayer together with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the observance has grown into a global phenomenon involving Christian communities throughout the world.

Increasingly, churches are also following the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle as a way of journeying in prayer through every region of the world during the course of the year.

In common prayer, people from different cultural, racial, social, theological, and liturgical backgrounds are united in spirit, even if they are praying in different places. Pray with us:

• Join or organize a prayer service in your local community during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Season of Creation.
• Study, individually or as a group, the reflections for the eight days of the Week of Prayer available for download on our website or through the YouVersion app.
• Pray with the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle individually or as a congregation.
• Explore prayer texts and songs for specific topics or occasions on our website.
• See our prayer posts in Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

During workdays, the Worship Committee at the WCC’s Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland (comprising staff of WCC, Lutheran World Federation, World Student Christian Federation, and World YWCA) organizes common prayer for staff and visitors at the following hours:

Mondays, 8:30 – 9 a.m.  [currently suspended, replaced with online prayers by video link]

Tuesdays - Fridays at 8:45 – 9 a.m.  [currently suspended, replaced with written prayer outlines shared via email, web and social media]

Wednesdays 12 – 12:15 p.m.  [currently suspended]

All are welcome to join these prayers. Groups are kindly requested to contact us in advance.

Stay updated about additional prayer services for Advent and other special occasions by following us on Twitter or Facebook!

See also: Visits to the Ecumenical Centre.

Sharing spiritual riches in song and prayer is a good way to strengthen relationships among WCC members.

Are you a hymn writer or do you enjoy writing prayer texts? Your contributions to a life-affirming spirituality that promote visible church unity will be most welcome! Please contact us by email, indicating the following information:

• Your full name and address
• Church affiliation or the organization you represent
• The theme of your prayer

There could be different uses of the prayer you submit: it could be published on websites related to the ecumenical movement, translated into other languages, freely reprinted in church publications (such as orders of prayer, bulletin inserts, etc.) and/or in a new edition of the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle. Please submit only texts or songs that you have written yourself and that can be published under a creative common license.

Rev. Dr Mikie A. Roberts

email: [email protected]

phone. +41 22 791 6158