Those gathered did so with the aim of sharing strategies for better dialogue in the spaces where Jews, Christians, and Muslims meet—and also in the spaces where each meets on their own. The cohort of scholars, clerics, and students gathered at Bossey were from four continents: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Together they formed the 2025 manifestation of the Gingko Fellowship, a body united in a common commitment to dialogue, understanding, and friendship between the fellows themselves. “Over the course of four days, the fellows engaged with some of the most challenging text materials from within the Abrahamic family tree with a view to find strategies to overcome the divisions they create,” explained Rev. Baxter McRolston, a Gingko fellow. “This was performed in a number of ways: in lectures, seminars, and reflective groups, as well as over dinner, during a tour of religious sites in nearby Geneva, and walks down to the lake.” During these moments, McRolston added, an Iranian sat with an Israeli, a rabbi with a priest, and all moved from stranger to friend: a small but powerful glimmer of hope against the conflicts of the present age. “The fellowship extends its gratitude to the community at Bossey, as well as the World Council of Churches for their hosting of us for this most necessary of gatherings,” said McRolston. “My deepest gratitude goes to the World Council of Churches for hosting the Gingko retreat at the serene Château de Bossey, and for providing the space for such a rare and meaningful gathering,” said Asmaa Elzieny, senior fellow from Global Peace Institute, UK. “To sit together in this place of beauty and hospitality was itself a reminder that peace begins with the courage to welcome one another.” As a Muslim Gingko fellow, Elzieny noted it was both humbling and enriching to join brothers and sisters from the Jewish and Christian traditions in grappling with texts that, to some, may seem polemical or divisive. “Rather than shy away from them, we entered into dialogue with honesty and reverence, guided by the conviction that scripture must be a means to understanding, not a weapon of separation,” Elzieny said. “Over four days, in lectures and seminars, in quiet reflection and open conversation, everywhere and even around the table, we journeyed from unfamiliarity to friendship.” Elzieny said that the gathering allowed people to glimpse the possibility of coexistence shaped by respect and compassion. “For Muslims, this is no departure from faith but its very heart,” said Elzieny. “The Qur’an calls us to justice, mercy, and dialogue, and in Bossey, those calls found living expression.” Prof. Angeliki Ziaka, WCC programme executive on Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, which accompanied the preparation and realization of the Gingko 2025 Interfaith Fellowship Retreat at Bossey, stated that “the gathering went beyond usual norms by bringing together young scholars and religious leaders experienced in interfaith contexts. Participants not only discussed polemical texts and difficult themes but also shared personal and national experiences in a spirit of cooperation, seeking answers to today’s pressing challenges that are moving religion from the margins to the center of political developments.” “ The retreat highlighted the power of interreligious engagement, both among committed members of faith communities and those working alongside them for peace and reconciliation, offering hope for the future and a commitment to continue the dialogue”, she concluded. Gingko Learn more about the WCC interreligious work Current Dialogue - World Council of Churches’ journal on interreligious dialogue | 
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