MODERATOR OF THE WCC CENTRAL COMMITTEE: "WE ARE CALLED TO BE WITNESSES OF CHRIST AND HIS RADICAL LOVE"

In a report presented to the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, Bishop Prof. Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the WCC central committee, reflected on the urgent need for peace, the hope found in a shared Easter, and the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and other figures whose lives continue to inspire and uphold the ecumenical movement.

"A lot has happened since we last met in Cyprus," said Bedford-Strohm to the governing body. "We have witnessed so many Good Friday experiences in the months since then."

Bedford-Strohm noted that empirical evidence often seems to speak against holding on to hope. "We desperately need support for our hope from other sources. We need the support of Easter," he said. "Celebrating Easter on the same date this year in all our churches was a major theme in the media that I could follow."

Bedford-Strohm also mourned the loss and celebrated the lives of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, who passed away in January, and Pope Francis, who passed away in April.

"Let me finally also refer to someone who died a long time ago," Bedford-Strohm said. "On April 9, we held a touching prayer service at the former concentration camp of Flossenbürg, at the place and time where Dietrich Bonhoeffer was murdered by the Nazis exactly 80 years ago."

It is well-known how committed Bonhoeffer was to the ecumenical movement. "What is less well-known is how outspoken Bonhoeffer was on the theme of social justice," said Bedford-Strohm. "His sermons, in particular, reveal how deeply Bonhoeffer was moved by the question of social justice."

Bedford-Strohm concluded by observing that we do not walk alone, but are accompanied by a cloud of witnesses who give us the support we need.

"So, we can be what we are called to be: witnesses of Christ and His radical love, which moves the world to reconciliation and unity," he said.

The WCC executive committee is meeting from May 12-16 via video conference.