Dear EYCE friend,
As we enter the season of Lent, we look forward with anticipation to the joyous celebration of Easter. This year is special, since this time our calendars allign and the joy of Easter is celebrated all over the Christian traditions on April 20.
To extend this shared joy, we invite you to join our EYCE Easter Get-together on Monday, April 21. Let’s come together to share our Easter traditions and celebrate in fellowship. Please mark your calendars!
We’re also excited to share an update on our re:start EYCE project. Following the election of Steven Edwards as our General Secretary, we’re moving into a new phase. Steven will be working with us on a part-time, six-month contract, and we’re actively working to secure long-term funding to ensure their continued contributions.
We value your continued support and look forward to sharing these important moments with you in person and online!
Yours in Christ,
Aino, Harald, Saara, Pavel, Alan Shiyar and Steven
Upcoming EYCE events
Online
⌨️ Bible studies and online discussions on the second Monday of the month, all at 18 CET. Register through this link.
- 10 March 2025 – Guest Michael Erhayanmen from Nigeria, the founder of Koret Boys iniative, see more here.
- 14 April 2025
- 12 May 2025
⛪ Easter get-together 21 April 2025.
In-person
☀️ International Activity Being Broke isn’t Woke: Tackling Youth Poverty 2-10 June 2025 in Bukarest, Hungary. More information to come. The applications for this international activity will begin shortly.
☘️ Study Session Faith in Action 3 1 August – 6 September 2025 in Budapest, Hungary . Organised together with the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women Youth. Topic is addressing climate change and strengthening democracy.
✍️ 48th General Meeting 9-12 October 2025. Save the date for the next ordinary General Meeting. It will include elections for the Executive Committee for years 2026-2027 and internal auditors. We ask you to host and to join us in organising the meeting. What does hosting mean? Coordinate with us the accommodation, you help us in organising with your expertise!
More information to come, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter here!
Representations
Chairperson Aino Vihonen presenting the work of EYCE at the meeting of European Fellowship of Christian Youth. The Annual General Meeting took place in Copenhagen on 15th of February at the office of FDF (Frivilligt Drenge- og Pigeforbund).
Steven Edwards attended the previous Central Committee meeting in Geneva on 21-27 June 2023, picture taken by Albin Hillert/World Council of Churches.
Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe is invited to World Council of Churches Central Committee meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa 18-24 June 2025. Executive Committee member Saara Alamäki from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland will participate the meeting.
She will serve the meeting as an advisor with the right to speak but not participate in the decision-making. This central committee will initiate planning for the 12th Assembly in 2030 and receive reports from the WCC commissions and advisory groups elected in 2022.
This year there are multiple milestones to be observed in the meeting:
⭐1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea
⭐ 140th anniversary of the Berlin Conference regulating the colonization of Africa
⭐ 100th anniversary of the Life and Work conference held in Stockholm
⭐ 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the Beijing Declaration
New General Secretary Steven Edwards
We are happy to announce our new General Secretary, Steven Edwards! Steven will be working on a part-time contract, here is an introduction from their new position:
Hi everyone, you might have seen me in previous editions of the newsletter, on our homepage or on social media. But from 1 March on I will switch my hats. I won‘t serve any longer as vice chairperson but I will have the great opportunity to serve EYCE as General Secretary. Hopefully beyond 31 August, because right now the contract is limited. Here we still need all of your help as we are looking for churches, partners and organisations who can help us for the moment to have staff and to get back into more funding sources. But enough about that, reach out to us, to talk more about it.
For now I want to say a few words about myself. I am 29 years old and study theology and education in Germany. I am a member of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, which is a united protestant church. I have gained many experiences as a volunteer and besides being now the General Secretary I can use all that I have learned in my other part-time job as I work as an officer for ecumenical projects in the church association Gelsenkirchen and Wattenscheid. EYCE has been an incredible journey so far in representing young people and organise international activities, and I am looking forward to continue this journey in a new capacity!
Questions and office
If you have any questions or ideas, please contact us on social media. Our General Secretary Steven Edwards can be reached via general.secretary@eyce.org and Executive Committee members personal emails can be found on our website through this link.
Donate
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