Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we approach the half-year mark in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches, we thank you for already participating in and following numerous and diverse events that have taken place across the world, organized either by WCC or by you, our member churches and ecumenical partners.

With God’s presence among us, we have drawn even closer together as we continue our Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. I feel encouraged, strengthened and excited by our journey of faith. In that spirit, will you sustain us you’re your prayers for three meaningful events that will take place in June?

Meetings of the WCC executive and central committees (12-21 June).
A high point of the 70th anniversary celebrations, these two meetings will enable us to continue reflecting together on the historical treasures of the ecumenical movement and on how we can move together in hope to meet today’s challenges. Please pray for us as we make preparations for the 11th Assembly in 2021.

Prayer service at Cathedral Saint-Pierre in Geneva (17 June).
Won’t you join us in spirit for a moment of thanksgiving and celebration? WCC representatives will join local church leaders, partners and friends of the council, and staff and former staff living in and near Geneva. Ecumenical Patriarch His All-Holiness Bartholomew I has kindly accepted our invitation to give the homily. A four-person delegation from the Korean Christian Federation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is also expected to be with us - an historic milestone on its own! We will share the order of the service with you as soon as it is ready.

“Walking, praying and working together” with Pope Francis at the WCC (21 June).
Pope Francis will visit us in the Ecumenical Centre as the world watches through the many media outlets already planning to attend. Pope Francis will renew the commitment of his predecessors to the ecumenical movement and pledge to move together with the worldwide fellowship of churches represented by the WCC. You are an integral part of this common pilgrimage! “Walking, praying and working together” will not only be the theme for Pope Francis’s visit to the WCC; it is also be our pledge for the future: our pledge to you.

Prayers and songs, written specifically by sisters and brothers from our member churches for the 70th anniversary, are available on our website:
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/wcc70/prayers-and-songs/prayers-and-songs?searchterm=Prayers 70th anniversary

On behalf of the WCC, thank you for your spiritual support, which upholds our work and adds a sense of genuine global engagement that is our lifeblood.

Yours in our common Lord,

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
General Secretary