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WCC retirees gather for news, prayers—and Bossey anniversary

September 7, 2026 · 1 min read

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Mon, 09/07/2026 - 22:31

An annual gathering of World Council of Churches (WCC) retirees, along with retirees from the Lutheran World Federation and other sister organizations, was held on 7 September. Participants heard the latest WCC news, prayed together, and enjoyed a birthday cake commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.

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Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC

In his greetings, WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay offered an update highlighting news and events from the WCC during the past year under the umbrella of the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. “ We have been working on intensifying and deepening the pilgrimage as we go along,” he said. “ Interestingly enough, I think in this past year since we have met, there has been some great movement in trying to actually deepen and broaden the understanding and the impact of the whole idea of the pilgrimage.”

He mentioned recent solidarity visits and dialogue with Ukraine, the Korean Peninsula, Palestine and Israel, and various African countries…

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

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Константин Козлов

Interestingly, they celebrated Bossey's 80th birthday with a cake. But Pillay spoke about visits to Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula - this is probably the most difficult direction now. Do you think such meetings really help or are they more for reporting purposes?

Дмитрий Новиков

Cake is good, humanly speaking. But as for the visits to Ukraine and Korea, it seems to me that they are more for reporting purposes than for real reconciliation. What do you think, Konstantin, after such trips, does something change locally or remains the same?