WCC NEWS: Ecumenical Accompaniers complete their service in Palestine with “different perspectives of justice”

A group of Ecumenical Accompaniers completed their service in Palestine and Israel, handing their ministry over to the next wave, and celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at the same time. The sun sets in the evening over the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 02 February 2023 Representatives from local churches attended the “handover” ceremony, a traditional part of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, during which the departing group lit candles to pass to their successors. The Ecumenical Accompaniers from around the globe also spent time past week celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by visiting Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches in Jerusalem. Ecumenical accompaniers gather for the handover ceremony, January 2023. Photo: WCC The accompaniers served in the midst of an increasing cycle of violence in Jerusalem, and they expressed their inspiration to help others across the world learn about the hopes and injustices taking place in the region. This particular group witnessed a record-breaking number of incidents—492. The previous groups recorded 301 incidents, which at the time was a record as well, and the group before that recorded 290. “We are seeing a new trend in the targeting of Palestinian civilians,” said Jack Munayer, coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. “More Palestinians have been killed so far than there have been days in the year, and our Ecumenical Accompaniers have had to reflect on many families that have been forced to leave their homes.” Remembering the people they helped, the departing Ecumenical Accompaniers prayed together for a world without discrimination, for a world with freedom of religion for all, for a world without occupation. They prayed for no more displacement, no more violence. They shared their hopes for a future with equal rights, security, and peace. They return to their home countries with grave concern for the communities in which they have walked, prayed, dined, slept, and lived. Ecumenical Accompanier Anne Heikkinen said it was great to see Christians together during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. “People were welcoming,” she said. “They gave us encouraging comments and thanked us. While going from one church to another and hearing the different sermons, It was good to hear the different perspectives of justice.” Some of the many ecumenical accompaniers participating in the WCC-EAPPI programme. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland