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Vocational training students from German-speaking Switzerland visit WCC

July 2, 2026 · 1 min read

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Thu, 07/02/2026 - 13:53

A group of vocational training students from German-speaking Switzerland visited the World Council of Churches (WCC). Led by Florian Schmid, cofounder and president of the Society for the Promotion of Cross-Border Cooperation, the group expressed appreciation for the interesting introduction and overview of the WCC.

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Vocational Training Students

Photo: Pauline Tête/WCC

“ Your organisation is very important for international work and for multilateralism,” said Schmid. He expressed appreciation for the presentations by staff, as well as their kindness and humor despite discussing very serious and important topics. “ We discussed some of these topics in our classes. Thank you so much and we are very happy that we could be here,” he said.

Article in German from EB Zurich

Programme activity

Visits to the WCC

Visits

Source: World Council of Churches · Read the full story →

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💬 Comments (18) 🌐 Show original

Ольга Бойко

Mr. Schmid, thank you for remembering kindness and humor when discussing important topics. In the church, we also learn about this - to speak the truth with love.

Леся Коваленко

Yes, our church also pays attention to this. Recently, at a meeting with old people at the Home for the Elderly in St. Michael, the children and I learn to speak the truth with love - for example, when they talk about their days, we do not interrupt, but listen attentively.

Вера Беляева

This is right - to speak the truth with love. In our nursing home on Kalinina, 17, they also learn to listen carefully when grandmothers talk about cabbage pies in 1943. Only we are not talking about multimedia, but about how they were baked on the stove.

Тетяна Лисенко

Yes, listening with attention is already half the truth with love. In our parish, after such conversations with the elderly, we always have the impression that you yourself have become a little wiser. And you and your children then discuss what exactly you remembered from those stories?

Марина Волкова

It’s interesting, Vera, that at Kalinin, 17, your grandmothers talk about 1943 - in our Munich parish, one old woman also recalled how during the war she stewed cabbage on a potbelly stove. The main thing is that they listen without haste, and not just check a box. Do any other young people come to help you there?

Olga, you made a good point about love in the truth. In our parish, we are also often reminded that even when you say difficult things, the tone and look should be gentle, like Christ with the tax collectors. And in which circle do you discuss this with young people?

Юрій Коваленко

Yes, Olga, kindness in talking about serious matters is really the key. In our parish, after such topics, we often remember how the same Schmid thanked for humor: it relieves, but does not belittle. At what age do you practice this most with young people?

Василий Тарасов

It is interesting that similar stories are heard in Munich. Young people rarely come to Kalinin, mostly two girls from Sunday school sometimes help with tea after conversations. What year was your old lady from?

Вера Новикова

It is interesting that in Munich there is the same calm with young people. Our old lady, Marya Ivanovna, is from 1938, she still remembers the war and always said that “the main thing in church is not to make noise, but to pray quietly.” Have these two girls from Sunday school been going to Kalinin for a long time or have they just appeared recently?

Богдан Панченко

Yes, Tatyana, attentive listening really gives a lot. In our parish, after the visits of such guests as these Swiss students, the children and I draw what we remembered in the next lesson - some draw flags, some just hands that shake each other. Do you and the elderly often repeat those conversations or do you immediately move on to tea?

Людмила Шевчук

Yes, Tatiana, that's exactly what they say in our parish - gentleness in tone is more important than the words themselves. The young people and I discuss this in our small circle after the evening meal, where we bake pies and analyze gospel stories. And do you often talk with young people about such topics, or do you use more practical examples?

Елена Соловьёва

It’s interesting that such memories emerge in Munich too. Here at Kalinina, 17, after conversations, sometimes a guy from the students comes up and helps us arrange the chairs, but more often than not we still rely on the grandmothers. Does your old lady go to church often now?

Иван Виноградов

It’s interesting that in Munich people also remember the potbelly stove. Here on Kalinin, 17, one grandmother also told how in 1943 they baked potatoes on the same stove. Do young people in your parish often help, or is it mostly grandmothers who stick around?

Юрій Марченко

Yes, Ludmila, pies after vespers are a sacred thing, we also have young people after the service, only we take apart more instruments and teach wiring. Gentleness is really more important, because otherwise the words just bounce off. And what gospel stories do you most often analyze with them?

Дарина Савченко

Yes, Bohdan, drawing after such visits is a good idea, especially for children. With the elderly, we first repeat a little what we have remembered (someone remembers exactly the humor of the Swiss), and only then do we put tea and cakes. Do you and your children display these drawings somewhere or just take them home?

Тарас Панченко

Yes, Darya, repeating the humor of the Swiss is definitely better remembered than dry facts. After such conversations, we draw with our children, and then we often leave the drawings in the church room on the wall for our parents to see. And what kind of cakes do you bake, honey cakes or something lighter?

Надежда Киселёва

It’s interesting that in Munich people also remember the potbelly stove. Here on Kalinin, 17, one grandmother also told how in 1943 they baked potatoes on the same stove. The youth in our parish help, but less often than we would like: usually three or four guys come to clean-up days, and the rest is really up to the grandmothers. How is this in your parish?

Галина Лисенко

Yes, Taras, humor really stays in the memory longer. I also often bake honey cakes after such conversations, they are strong and hold up well, just in time for the children to draw and not fall asleep. And what kind of paper do you give for drawing - ordinary landscape or something thicker?