Equipping each other for Christian witness in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world

Report (draft) on the Seminar: Equipping each other for Christian witness

in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world

Ecumenical Continuing Formation - ECF

05 - 15 August, 2019

Château de Bossey, Bogis-Bossey, Switzerland Public Theology & Mission Sub-committee 2 September 2019 Paul Goh

Background
This seminar took place from 5-15 August 2019 at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey, profiting from the spirit of Bossey, the experience of the Ecumenical Institute and the proximity of the World Council of Churches offices in Geneva.
The multi-cultural and multi-faith realities Christians live in today, and a world of post-modern values and concepts, are challenging the public witness and pastoral accompaniment of pastors, congregations and churches almost everywhere. In reaction to increasing plurality, xenophobia, racism, nationalist populism and religious fundamentalism are growing. If older generations still hold other memories, this is the world of young people that they know and experience and it is also the context for leadership decisions that respond to the situation today. One of the biggest problems churches, but also other faith communities are facing is the sharing of faith with the younger generation in meaningful and constructive ways.
Equipping each other for Christian witness in this context is an important contemporary missionary and pastoral challenge. How to share the faith together on the way as Christian disciples, so that people can hear, understand and find meaning and fulfilment for their lives? This ECF Event was designed that participants develop a shared vision, discover approaches to address this challenge together, and to support each other on their journey.
The methodology of the seminar built on the approach of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace - celebrating life, visiting the wounds and transforming injustices together. Participants were asked to prepare for sharing their own experiences and examples from their contexts, learning together from best practices as well as failure.
ECUMENICAL CONTINUING FORMATION – ECF ECF provides leadership training - short-term courses, seminars, research groups and resource development - for professionals from the WCC member churches, ecumenical partners and international organizations, who are part of and interested in the ecumenical movement in a multi-religious world. The activities build awareness for the ecumenical implications of societal and ecclesial changes. They are contributions to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, an initiative of the WCC member churches. The Pilgrimage aims to work together in a common quest, renewing the true vocation of the church through collaborative engagement with the most important issues of justice and peace, healing a world filled with conflict, injustice and pain. In general the ECF events are open to all professionals interested in the event’s subject and who have already reached 18 years of age. The events are conducted in the English language. All costs are normally the responsibility of the accepted participant.
Principles
The process starts from the conviction that the group is the bearer of the knowledge; active sharing of participants is encouraged.
The learning process needs to facilitate in creative ways the interaction between the story of the Gospel of Christ,
the faith stories of participants, their spirituality, and the contextual realities.
The spiritual dimension was an essential part of the programme. Each day we began with a Morning Prayer Service at 8.30 am.
Facilitator  Rev. Dr Martin Robra: a theologian and ordained pastor of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, Germany, Rev Robra is Professor of Ecumenical Social Ethics, and programme staff for the World Council of churches in Roman Catholic Relations, and the joint inter-faith project with the International Labour Organisation Advancing Peace through social justice and support to the Associate General Secretaries concerning the pilgrimage of justice and peace. He has been teaching at the Ecumenical Institute since Autumn 2014. Participants 15 Christian leaders and young people, both lay and ordained, gathered from all different cultural and ecclesial backgrounds: four from India, two from Greece, two from the USA, one from Mexico, one from Brazil, one from Trinidad and Tobago, one from Nigeria, one from Germany, one from Italy and one from Australia! ·      Baptist, ·      Church of the Brethren, ·      Church of the Nazarene, ·      Methodist, ·      Orthodox, ·      Presbyterian, ·      The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), ·      Evangelical-independent Church and ·      the Uniting Church in Australia.    Building blocks for the Programme
Community building - Morning prayers prepared by participants
Sharing of failures and encouraging examples in inter-religious relationships by participants Keynote Lecture: Sharing faith in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world (Prof. Wesley Ariarajah)
Lecture & Workshop: Reading the Bible in a multi-cultural and multi-religious context (Prof. Fr Lawrence Iwuamadi) Lecture & Workshop: History of Ecumenical Missiology and contemporary challenges (Prof. Benjamin Simon)
Celebrating together - musical and liturgical workshop (Rev Dr Mikie Roberts)
Workshop on the challenges of religious pluralism (Rev Prof Nathan Wilson)
Workshops in groups: Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World
Experiences of the Jewish community in Switzerland - young people
Experiences of the Muslim community in Switzerland - young people (Cancelled)
Experiences of the Taizé community - visit to Taizé, participation in prayer, discussion with youth and brothers Experiences of the WCC –visit to the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Presentation on 'Water & Eco-Justice' by Dr. Dinesh Suna (Programme executive Coordinator, the WCC Ecumenical Water Network) Presentation on ‘Gender Justice’ by Rev. Judith VanOsdol (Program Executive for Gender Justice   and Women’s Empowerment, The Lutheran World Federation)  Meeting and discussion with WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit

Programme Schedule (executed)

	MONDAY 5 August	TUESDAY 6 AUGUST	WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST	THURSDAY 8 AUGUST	FRIDAY 9 AUGUST	SATURDAY 10 AUGUST	SUNDAY 11 AUGUST
		Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
08:30-09:00		Morning prayer	Morning prayer	Morning prayer	Study visit Taizé see separate schedule	Morning prayer
09:00-10:30		Welcome to Bossey Introducing participants and programme	Hopes and expectations and ground rules for the seminar	Reading the Bible in a multi-faith and multi- cultural context r. Lawerence Iwuamadi		Evaluation of the study visit to Taizé	Worship in Geneva The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva, English-Speaking multi-cultural Congregation
Equipping		Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break		Coffee/tea break
each other
11:00-12:30	Arrivals	Getting to know each other	Sharing faith in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world Prof.Wesley Ariarajah	Reading the Bible in a multi-faith and multi- cultural context		Celebrating together Mikie Roberts	International Museum of the Reformation & St. Pierre Cathedral
Participants		Lunch	Lunch	Lunch		Lunch	Lunch
will be asked
13:00-14:00		Break	Break	Break		Break	Break
14:00-15:30		Bossey orientation and campus tour	Group work	Sharing of experiences in groups		Celebrating together Mikie Roberts	Archaeological site of Saint-Pierre Cathedral
15:30-16:00		Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break		Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break
			Sharing from the			Sharing in Groups -
16:00-17:30		Groups on hopes and expectations	Groups and Preparation for Study	Sharing of experiences in plenary		identifying communalities and	the Reformation Wall
			visit to Taizé			differences
17:30-18:30		Break	Break	Break		Break	Break
18:30-19:00	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner		Dinner	Dinner

Venues: Morning prayers in the Chapel, all other sessions in Salle Hexagone of the Conference Halls building

	MONDAY 12 AUGUST	TUESDAY 13 AUGUST	WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST	THURSDAY 15 AUGUST	FRIDAY 16 AUGUST
	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
08:30-09:00	Morning prayer		Morning prayer	Morning prayer	D E P A R T U R E S
09:00-10:30	The challenges of religious pluralism Nathan Wilson	Departure at 07:45 from Bossey	Presentation & Discussion On the Islamic Faith	Addressing open questions
		Study Visit
Equipping	Coffee/tea break		Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break
each other		Ecumenical Centre
	The challenges of religious		Christian witness in a multi-
11:00-12:30	Pluralism Nathan Wilson		religious world Benjamin Simon	Addressing open questions
Participants	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
will be asked
13:00-14:00	Break	Break	Break	Break
14:00-15:30	Sharing faith in a multi-cultural and …	@14:00 Study Visit Muslim community Hafid Ouardiri and young people                 (Cancelled)	Christian witness in a multi- religious world Benjamin Simon	Evaluation
15:30-16:00	Coffee/tea break		Coffee/tea break	Coffee/tea break
	… multi-faith world
16:00-17:30	from a Jewish perspective Eric Ackermann and young people		Insights gained and open questions	Mutual commitment
17:30-18:30	Break		Break	Closing prayer
18:30-19:00	Dinner	Dinner	Special Dinner & Cultural Night with students at the Intensive English Summer Course	Dinner

Keynote Lecture - Sharing faith in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world

By Prof. Wesley Ariarajah - Sri Lankan Methodist theologian, Professor Emeritus at Drew University and former Director of inter-religions relations at the World Council of Churches (WCC)

Three distinct words in mission area:

1.   Evangelism - proclaiming Jesus Christ and invite people to respond, active aspect;

2.   Mission - everything the church does (school, social service, etc.);

3.   Witness - what others are able to see/to discover in us?

Thesis: For Christian witness in a multicultural and multi religious world, Dr Wesly Ariarajah has suggested four paradigm shifts: from majority mentality to minority, from conversion to healing and transformation, from exclusive to inclusive and from doctrinal to spiritual.

Mission is not to convert other traditions into ours

1.   From majority mentality to minority mentality - Christianity is meant to be a minority, God needs His witnesses in the world, Saving world is God’s work not ours, our work is witnessing who God is;

2.   From exclusive to an inclusive understanding of mission - Mission is God’s mission (Missio Dei) not part of Church, We(Church) are partners of God in God’s mission, God is already working in the world, God can use all kinds of forces and peoples; other religions as co-partners/co-pilgrims?

Strangers or Co-Pilgrims?: The Impact of Interfaith Dialogue on Christian Faith and Practice (Fortress Press, 2017)

3.   Mission and witness in terms of transformation and healing, not conversion; new discipleship, new values; nothing but about new community;

4.   From a doctrinal to a spiritual understanding of mission - values of the kingdom of God, the very history of Jesus, who he was? Spirituality of Jesus Vs Finality of Jesus, Mission with Jesus’ way

Decolonize the Christian mind “From colonial mind to crucified mind” (Kosuke Koyama)

Plurality of religion and cultures

1910 Edinburgh assembly - and then mission in Asia has failed

Two problems:

-        Evangelize people to Mammon Vs evangelize people to Christ

-        Credibility of religion

Imperial and colonial past influence on traditional mission

Religion pluralism as a reality; plurality is not a problem, but a blessing

What is mission? Why are we in mission, what purpose? How do we do mission? What should happen when mission is achieved?

1.   Plurality is here to stay

2.   Theology of religions - religions give different responses to God “All religions are valid” (John Hick)

We need a strong teaching ministry

Dialogue is to respect the other religions, not to accept; good, bad, ugly in all religion traditions; mutual correction/criticism

Salvation is well-being, fullness of life (God)

Life with God Vs Life without God, Live with Neighbours Vs Life without Neighbours [??]

LEcture & Workshop: Reading the BIble in a multi-faith & multi-cultural context

By Lawrence Iwuamadi - Dean of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey

Multi-cultural and Multi-faith How do we understand these terms?

Christianity and the Bible

Christianity

Judaism       CHRIST: person, life & ministry Roman Empire

Hellenism

Influence of Judaism, Roman Empire and Hellenism in Bible

Important features of Early/New Testament Christian Communities

The reality of tradition:

-        Evidence from the creeds (Kerygma and the Rule of Faith)

-        The codification of the Scriptures

-        The early Christian embraced the Jewish Bible (LXX)

-        The spread of Christianity necessitated the emergence of the New Testament writings

-        These writings began to gain authority and there was need for censorship

The Christian Sacred Book: THE HOLY BIBLE

Old Testament (Hebrew Bible):

-        Masoretic Text (MT) - in Hebrew

-        Septuagint (LXX) - in Greek

New Testament (Christian):

-        Four Gospels and Acts of Apostles

-        The Letters

-        Apocalypse

Christian attitude to the Holy Bible

-        The Bible is the WORD OF GOD written in Human Language

-        The Human Writers were Inspired

-        The Bible is Holy

-        The Bible is inerrant (theological truth)

-        The Bible bears Authority

Presupposition

-        We are all Christian

-        We all accept the Bible, though we might have different canons

-        The Bible is central to our core beliefs, practices and faith system

The religio-cultural context of the Bible

Reading the Bible in a Multi-cultural context:

-        The Word of God took flesh in a specific religious and cultural context

-        As the same Word of God encounters other cultures, it continues to take flesh in those cultures

-        Researchers say there has been a constant shift of Centre of gravity of world Christianity

-        Ancient Near East (Palestine), Europe, the Rest of the World

-        The world becomes more globalized

-        Migration is a constant reality

-        It no longer takes crossing the oceans to encounter other cultures and other ways of being Christian

One Bible: different versions and translations

-        Biblical faith at its best always desired to make God’s word available to people in their native language and so parts of the Bible have been translated since 450 B.C:

-        This, of necessity, involves some risk. Translation is always interpretation

-        No two languages have identical vocabularies or grammar

Culturally influenced reading of the Bible:

-        Word without equivalents, etc.

-        Economic, political, social reading of the Bible

-        Ideological reading of the Bible

Translation

Word-to-word translation (King James)

Dynamic equivalent (Jerusalem)

Paraphrase translation

Factors that affect biblical interpretation

-        Socio-political, cultural

-        Religio-cultural

-        Religious differences (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal)

-        Hermeneutics approach

Principles for reading the Bible in a Multi-cultural context

-        Generosity

-        Hospitality - about welcome; give attention

-        Love

-        Humility - respectfully listen to the other

-        Confidence - who am I?

Hermeneutic:

-        of Coherence

-        of Confidence

-        of Suspicion

-        that Questions Oneself

Perennial existential questions:

-        How did we come to be?

-        What is the goal of our being?

-        Where do we come from and where do we go?

-        What is good and what is bad?

-        What comes after the earthly existence?

Biblical foundation

All human beings are created in God’s image

The link between love for God and for neighbour

Mission belongs to the very being of the Church

Christian Witness as Mission

Highlights from the discussion (in groups, in the afternoon)

Recognize:

-        our bases, our background

-        Existence of plurality of religion that exist

-        Contextual foundation of biblical text for both better and deeper interpretation

Church of the Brethren - go to remote areas where nobody goes, strong activity during the Nigerian crisis, share not only funds; necessity to live together with the Muslim community in dangerous situations

        

            Inculturation Vs literally approach, strong costumes and use

         Open questions about baptism, death, etc. (interpreting community)

         Need to deepen hermeneutics skills

         Develop a Trinitarian approach

         Living approach with the Bible (storytelling, biographical)

Workshop: Celebrating Together 

By Rev. Dr Mikie A. Roberts (WCC Programme Executive for Spiritual Life and for Faith and Order)

““When we breathe together, it becomes the starting point for prayer that would be the answer to the Prayer of Christ that they will be one”

“It’s difficult to celebrate together if you don’t know the other” “What we are celebrating together is LIFE”

How do we act to:

PROMOTE	PREVENT
Invitation Agape Feast Cultural exposure Education and create awareness Sharing stories and singing Food Common Themes Praying Silence Acceptance	Self-righteousness Legalism Liturgical matters Ignorance Gender insensitivity Church polity Conceptions about Eucharist Racism Traditions Fear Language Attitude

“The badge of identity”

“The sacrament of living”

“The two most critical activities: singing and praying” to cross the boundaries from prevent to promote

What singing and praying could do is lead us to a common breath, and then celebrate life together.

When we keep away from the other, the ignorance and suspicions continue.

“Willingness and taking the risk to enter the space of others is a starting point to celebrate together”.

The theme for the WCC’s 11th Assembly in 2021:

Christ’s Love moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity

Think Christ’s love through the acts of Jesus of History

Lecture & Workshop: History of Ecumenical Missiology and contemporary challenges

By Benjamin Simon (Professor of Ecumenical Missiology, Ecumenical Institute Bossey and Editor of the International Review of Mission)

Thesis: Mission is not about conversion, but about the three Ts: translation, transmission, and transformation. Mission theology needs to translate the gospel – also figuratively – into different contexts and cultures, including subcultures in our own culture and in secular contexts. It needs to transmit the gospel. Being witnesses of Christ in our world by being able to speak about our own faith is crucial when we consider the Western contexts and the distancing of the younger generation. The third T defining mission is transformation – a far more radical term than we may have wished, as it is about “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17.6). By focusing on these three Ts, mission becomes “a way of life” (Together towards Life 29)” 

Two PPT materials on “Mission in WCC” and “Together Towards Life and its Spirituality” by Benjamin Simon are available to share!!

A comment by Tim Hein, “It left me wondering if he might better have said that mission is not 'just' about conversion? In the paper he says that mission is about "Transformation", which he defines as "turning the world upside down" and then later links to Discipleship which, he says, "turns everything upside down...including our way of life". I'm interested as to why he feels this excludes conversion? He goes on to say that the NT presents discipleship as resulting from the "authority" of the call of Jesus, the cutting of previous commitments and ties, and sacrificial living. It seems strange to me that he sees mission as following the radical call of discipleship to turn "everything" upside down, except people's faith?”

At the seminar all participants were invited to read one of a number of significant mission documents, “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct,” created and adapted by three different bodies of Christian Churches: World Council of Churches, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and World Evangelical Alliance in 2011.

Preamble: Mission belongs to the very being of the church. Proclaiming the word of God and witnessing to the world is essential for every Christian. At the same time, it is necessary to do so according to gospel principles, with full respect and love for all human beings. Aware of the tensions between people and communities of different religious convictions and the varied interpretations of Christian witness… this document does not intend to be a theological statement on mission but to address practical issues associated with Christian witness in a multi-religious world. The purpose of this document is to encourage churches, church councils and mission agencies to reflect on their current practices and to use the recommendations in this document to prepare, where appropriate, their own guidelines for their witness and mission among those of different religions and among those who do not profess any particular religion.

On the document, the following is proposed as one of the common convictions for Christian witness.

“Christians affirm that while it is their responsibility to witness to Christ, conversion is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 16:7-9; Acts 10:44-47).”

It is my understanding that what they want to say by “conversion is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit” is that colonial, manipulative and any forced conversion practices, which sometimes resulted in religious violence, should not be considered genuine “Christian” mission/evangelism. What this phrase tries to address is, I think, an attitude of intolerance and superiority toward others – a belligerent and one-sided attempt to convert others to one’s own way of seeing things, imposing one’s own culture and worldview on others.

“82. Today’s world is marked by excessive assertion of religious identities and persuasions that seem to break and brutalize in the name of God rather than heal and nurture communities. In such a context, it is important to recognize that proselytism is not a legitimate way of practicing evangelism. The Holy Spirit chooses to work in partnership with people’s preaching and demonstration of the good news (see Rom. 10:14-15; 2 Cor. 4:2-6), but it is only God’s Spirit who creates new life and brings about rebirth (John 3:5-8; 1 Thess. 1:4-6). We acknowledge that evangelism at times has been distorted and lost its credibility because some Christians have forced “conversions” by violent means or the abuse of power.

83. Evangelism is sharing one’s faith and conviction with other people and inviting them to discipleship, whether or not they adhere to other religious traditions. Such sharing is to take place with both confidence and humility and as an expression of our professed love for our world.

84. Evangelism leads to repentance, faith, and baptism. Hearing the truth in the face of sin and evil demands a response—positive or

negative (John 4:28-29; cf. Mark 10:22). It provokes conversion, involving a change of attitudes, priorities, and goals. It results in

salvation of the lost, healing of the sick, and the liberation of the oppressed and the whole creation.

85. “Evangelism,” while not excluding the different dimensions of mission, focuses on explicit and intentional articulation of the gospel, including “the invitation to personal conversion to a new life in Christ and to discipleship.”21 In different churches, there are differing understandings of how the Spirit calls us to evangelize in our contexts. For some, evangelism is primarily about leading people to personal conversion through Jesus Christ; for others, evangelism is about being in solidarity and offering Christian witness through presence with oppressed peoples; others again look on evangelism as one component of God’s mission. Different Christian traditions denote aspects of mission and evangelism in different ways; however, we can still affirm that the Spirit calls us all towards an understanding of evangelism which is grounded in the life of the local church where worship (leiturgia) is inextricably linked to witness (martyria), service (diakonia), and fellowship (koinonia).” Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, WCC, 2013.

Conversation with the Jewish community in Switzerland (w/ Eric Ackermann, Rabbi, a Jewish woman and two Jewish youth)

“Practicing religion for me is a way of life and playing music in tune with rhythm of the creator of universe”

So impressive to hear this from a 17-year-old Jewish student, Noah (right next to me in the photo) at my first Jewish-Christian dialogue this afternoon. (He spoke in French, was interpreted in English and I paraphrased it from my understanding). We Christians have much to learn from a dialogue with Judaism such as Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World), tsedekah (justice), Sabbath and the Messianic hope for the peaceful world (Isaiah 11:6-9).

Morning Prayer Service, Bossey, 14/08/2019 Prepared and led by Paul Goh

CALL TO WORSHIP

We long for community and the Presence of God.

In whom we live and move and have our being.

May the ever-present love of God be with us.

And may the light of Christ surround us.

May we know the presence of the Spirit

as we gather in this community of ecumenical formation,

Equipping each other for common witness

with deeds of bold mercy and courageous justice.

As co-pilgrims toward reconciliation and renewal of all creation following a Risen Lord,

may the life of Jesus live on in us and through us. AMEN

HYMN - Jukkeso wangwiye

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy One,

we confess that it is not always easy to live out our beliefs.

Sometimes our prejudices, our fears about difference, get in the way.

If we have rushed in, thinking we have all the answers, and ignored another’s wisdom, forgive us.

If we have used the Church’s structure and regulations in a way to limit one another, forgive us.

If we have used worship traditions in a way that limited another’s access to you, forgive us.

Stretch us beyond our limitations, beyond our own imaginations of what could be.

Open us to the mystery and wonder of your creation that we might catch a glimpse of you. Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon

Despite everything we do, God loves us.

This grace is why we can dare to hope.

We will witness to this hope

in every word we speak to every person we meet.

Thanks be to God, we are forgiven.  Amen.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

God of a thousand names, we thought we knew you,

as the strong father watching over us and holding us.

Then we saw you as a mother bending us to feed us.

Then we found you as a friend walking our road with us.

God of a thousand names, we thought we knew you.

But you kept appearing in our lives through the people we met as:

Food for the hungry, water for the parched,

Rest for the weary, shock to the comfortable,

Healing to the suffering, liberation to the exploited,

Peace to the restless, home to the traveller,

Revelation to the seeking, love for the lonely.

In all these experiences, we learned more about you.

God of a thousand names, we thought we knew you,

But these names could not contain you; the images were too small.

Your love fills creation far beyond our naming or defining.

Great Living God, always more and always there, praise you for your creation wondrously and fearfully made!

HYMN - How Great Thou Art

BIBLE READING - ACTS 17: 22-31

REFLECTION

A few years ago I read an interesting news article about a new national study on religion and spirituality in Australia. Three in four Australians say they are turned off investigating religion when they hear celebrities or public figures talk about their Christian faith. Stories of miraculous healing are also significant turn offs. Unsurprisingly, 73 per cent of people say that sexual abuse of children within the church and other scandals are either a massive or a significant negative influence on people’s perceptions of Christians and Christianity. 65 per cent say the hypocrisy of Christians has a massive or significant negative influence on their perceptions of Christians and Christianity, with 64 per cent saying that religious wars negatively influence their perceptions.

But when it comes to Jesus, people were much more positive. Love is the attribute of Jesus that most Australians positively connect with (50 per cent). They also connect with hope (39 per cent), care (34 per cent) and truth (34 per cent). In a focus group, a non-Christian Gen X (born 1965-1979) participant said, “he’s [Jesus] an all-around awesome guy, in his religious beliefs. He’s all-around selfless, caring, sacrificing, all good to all people.” One non-Christian Gen Y participant said, “negative feelings come from things that happened inside the church or things like that. Maybe try to push the Jesus thing, rather than the ‘come to church and learn about Jesus’ thing.” But sounding a note of hope, the greatest attraction to investigating spirituality and religion is seeing people live out a genuine faith.

Paul's audience, Athenians who sophisticated, classically educated Greeks, in this text could be imagined as "the un-churched," or even the "spiritual but not religious," but they are open, and often they are hungry, hungry for spiritual food in a world that leaves us wanting something deeper and more meaningful than simply "more and more." Yes, perhaps they are open to every new thing, and there are many things that our culture offers, many answers, programs, and experts. For some people in our time, then, the gospel is something new (or something different from what they think it is). What are the challenges to us in this text as we think about intercultural and interreligious encounter and engagement? Do we think of them as sustained by God, having "the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places they would live" determined by the same God we worship and depend on?

Do we find that, in the midst of materialism and nationalism and militarism, we depend on "other gods" for our living? Do we hear the words "In him we live and move and have our being" in a new light, so to speak, when we realize Paul is quoting a pagan philosopher? Here in a multicultural and multi-faith world then, how do we witness to the risen Christ who is within us?

Let me conclude my reflection with a story about a Zen Buddhist monk who visited St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, USA. This monk so appreciated the prayer and quiet that he offered to lead a retreat for the monks at Spencer incorporating some aspects of his Zen practice. The retreat included features such as short interviews during which the instructor would offer the student a “koan”. A koan is a statement or question not so much meant to be answered rationally, but rather meant to provoke some lived response or certain kind of awareness. One day, one of the Spencer monks entered the interview room, sat down, and noticed a copy of the New Testament sitting open before the Zen monk, who smiled, and said “I like Christianity. But… I would not like it without resurrection.” Then he leaned forward very close to the Spencer monk and said “Show me your resurrection… That is your koan. Show me your resurrection.”

HYMN - Christ, You Are the Fullness

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Loving and gracious God,

hear our prayers for a world that longs to see you and know you:

give peace to the troubled, offer comfort to those who mourn, revive hope in the broken-hearted.

Loving and gracious God,

hear our prayers for ourselves as we seek to strengthen and confirm our commitment to bearing witness to your love.

Live in us, loving God,

so that our words bring peace to the suffering and hope to the despairing.

Move in us, loving God,

so that our actions show love to the lost and the lonely, and kindness to strangers.

Be in us, loving God,

so that our lives offer light to those yet groping in shadows, and courage to the fearful.

Revive us, renew us and send us to witness in word and action to the reconciling and transforming love of the triune God. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

BENEDICTION

May the power and presence of God go with you.

may Christ be always before you;

and may the Spirit of truth guide you into all love. AMEN

Passing the Peace of Christ

Personal reflection on Reconciliation

Friedrich von Kirchbach (President, 1% for Development Fund)

Domaine de La Garde, 9 August 2019

I would like to tell you how our terrace room became our “room of reconciliation:”

1.   My family’s experience after the liberation of Germany by the Red Army and the expropriation of all owners of agricultural estates, their imprisonment and in many cases death.

·       Ms Schmidt-Gödelitz:  “Communists don’t fall from the sky” after she was kicked out of her house with her four children, asked where on earth she should go and told by a young men:  you should simply kick the bucket (perish)!

2.  Important lesson as a German, 80 years after the outbreak of WW2, 100 years after the end of WW1:

·       is there a generation of “born after” (Nachgeborenen) who are no longer concerned?

o   Is modern law doctrine right, that you cannot be punished without guilt

o   Or the Old Testament, which says the sins of the fathers will haunt their children till the third or fourth generation?

·       Both are right.

·       There is no guilt of an entire nation, but also no such thing as the innocence of an entire nation.

·       Why:  because we are not free from the past, unless we give up our identity, which would be a horrendous price.

·       Identity is not only individual or personal, but part of it is our language, culture, nation and history. And it is all or nothing.  As a German, I cannot select Bach & Goethe, and deny the years from 1933 – 1945.

·       And in a globalized world, with a cosmopolitan culture, our identity becomes the  common history of homo sapiens, with all its achievements and misdeeds

3.   All of us need reconciliation with the people around us – spouses, children, family, work, community, foreigners etc.

·       Nietzsche’s Amor Fati:  great pain is the ultimate liberator of the spirit…

4.  What I have learned

·       Guilt, loss, suffering, transgression, is an inevitable part of the human condition. We all become victims and perpetrators in our life. Only reconciliation can help us go beyond.

·       Reconciliation consists for me of four steps:

o   First try to understand what really happened

o   Second accept it as it is, neither

§  deny or belittle it, nor

§  blow it up or make it more dramatic or evil, than it is

o   Third to know that it is never the last word, but on the contrary gives us a unique opportunity to grow as humans, in our capacity to be compassionate

o   Fourth, invites us in a very practical manner to do everything we can to learn from what has happened and to move beyond it.

·       the Talmud says:  The secret of redemption lies in remembrance.

5.   This has inspired our project here: we would like to contribute to reconciliation in our small way, full of joy & respect but not evading critical issues

See our programme at www.domainedelagarde.fr

Please note that I haven’t included my reflection on my experience of the Taizé community in this draft and I plan to complete this report after sharing my theological and missiological reflections at the upcoming Forum for Intercultural Leadership on 23 September.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Public Theology and Mission Sub-committee for granting me through the Highbury Street Fund (an amount of $2,000), which greatly contributed to cover the cost associated with my participation in the Seminar.