Drawing on the experiences of Sweden and Finland, the session explored what a principled ecumenical response to increased militarization in Europe looks like today. Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, opened the webinar with a brief historical overview of the WCC’s involvement in advocating for a world free from nuclear weapons. “The WCC has been engaged in the struggle against nuclear weapons since the earliest days of the nuclear age,” he said. Peter Weiderud, a Swedish politician and journalist who has been the director of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria since 2015, offered an overview of why Nordic countries are not isolated from the growing, worrying developments related to nuclear weapons. Dr Tytti Erästö, a senior researcher with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, reflected on how nuclear weapons are being normalized instead of being viewed as weapons of mass destruction. She also noted that dispersal plans are actually increasing the nuclear risk and making us less safe. Lani Anaya Jiménez, a peace and sustainable development professional, moderated the discussion, and reflected that we can collectively learn from the history being presented. “We should have an intergenerational dialogue where all these generations can listen to each other and learn form each other,” she said. “We can learn the history and engage more in this topic.” Dr Minna Hietamäki, theological advisor to the archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, noted how the arrival of the atomic age brought a new existential threat to all humanity. “A nuclear disaster is democratic by its nature in that it is nearly impossible to shield oneself from its destructive force,” she said. Priest Fredrika Gårdfeldt, from the Church of Sweden and Swedish Priests and Pastors against Nuclear Weapons, talked about what the ecumenical movement can do. “I am certain that, regardless of where we’re coming from, most people in the world aim for and dream of the same thing: peace and welfare for all,” she said. “As Christians, we have a special calling, a unique perspective in this world because when we seek peace it is based on the teaching of Jesus.” The webinar was the first of a WCC series entitled "Regional trends with global impact: Perspectives from the ecumenical movement." Discussions from this five-part series will feed into the Joint Biennial Conference of the WCC commissions and reference groups for Life, Justice, and Peace, to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 4-10 October. | 
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