The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year opened in great style in Lugano, Switzerland. The occasion also celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Comunità di Lavoro delle Chiese cristiane nel Canon Ticino (Ecumenical body of the Canton of Tessin).

The assembled participants walked from the town centre to the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Lawrence following the wooden cross used in the first walk 20 years earlier. The service was opened by Bishop Valerio Lazzeri and priests and pastors from the member churches all participated. The youth choir of the Eritrean Orthodox Church provided a lively musical interlude.

Our Archdeacon Adèle Kelham, as a former president of the Swiss National Ecumenical Council, was invited to give the sermon. It was the first time that a woman had ever preached in the Cathedral. 

The joy of the worship continued with prosecco and pizza in the nearby trattoria.

Here are some pictures of the event: