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GENEVE, Dec. 29, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- In a letter to Brother Alois, prior of the Taizé Community, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit sent a message to all those gathered in Basel, Switzerland for the 40th European Meeting of Young Adults organised by the Taizé Community.

The meeting will draw tens of thousands of young people in three countries - Switzerland, Germany and France - for a new stage of the "Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth" which began in the late 1970s.

"As this year draws to a close, we look back with gratitude how in 2017, for the first time in five centuries, Christians of all traditions have been able to commemorate the Reformation together," reads the message. "We have together offered repentance for the divisions of the past and affirmed what we have in common in Jesus Christ. This was a powerful symbol of our mutual accountability in Christ."

Tveit gave thanks for the witness to unity of the Taizé Community. "Anniversaries are opportunities to take stock of the past and to look forward to the future in hope and joy," the message continues. "Our witness together during the Reformation anniversary in 2017 is one that has enormous potential for strengthening hope."

Tveit invited the Taizé Community to continue with the WCC in its Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. "In 2018, the World Council of Churches celebrates its 70th anniversary, under the motto 'Walking Together, Serving Justice and Peace,'" the message concludes. "We look forward to continuing to walk together with you, seeking to make visible the unity we have in Christ, as we seek to contribute to transformation toward just peace."

WCC general secretary message to 40th European Meeting of Young Adults

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 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.