by TogetherforEurope | Mar 25, 2020 | Italy, News
After the celebrations of the 20th anniversary, the life of the network of Together for Europe continues. Following are brief news from Portugal, Italy and Slovenia.
PORTUGAL
On January 22, 2020, the Lisbon TfE group organized a moment of prayer in the chapel of a Mall. For the first time ever, this was jointly organized with members of two parishes of the Lusitanian Church (Anglican Communion).
The communion experience started with the first preparatory meeting, when all participants were aware that what they were doing was a new step forward. Communion among all participants increased thanks to the mutual respect and love shown, and all decisions were unanimously approved.
At the prayer event there were more than a hundred persons, from both Churches, who took part. A brief presentation of Together for Europe was followed by a commemoration of Chiara Lubich whose 100th anniversary of birth fell on that day. A Catholic priest and a woman Pastor from the Anglican Communion led the prayers, which were based on Acts 28, 2: “They showed us unusual kindness” – the motto that was chosen for the Week of Prayers for Christian unity. The participants expressed their joy in various ways, and manifested their determination to keep alive their relationships throughout the year.
ITALY
In Trent, the Week of Prayers for Christian unity was the occasion to present Together for Europe during an ecumenical afternoon meeting that was held at the Bishop’s place. The participants included: the Movements that are ‘Friends’ of TfE, the Bishop’s delegate for ecumenism, members of the Russian Orthodox Church, Rumanian Orthodox priests, Lutheran Pastors, Adventists and members of the Quadrangular Church.
Moreover, the TfE group is involved in other activities: two events regarding ‘Yes to Life’; the preparation of the diocesan calendar for Lent 2020, with meditations of Chiara Lubich on the motto – “safeguarding the creation, safeguarding the creatures’; and on May 8, to mark the Feast of Europe, they intend to organize an event with the participation of many of the local entities.
SLOVENIA
Following the annual meeting of the ‘Friends’ of TfE that was held in Ottmaring-Augsburg, the Slovenian group (made up of Christian Life Communities, Way – Pot, Communion and liberation, Couples for Christ, Emmanuel and the Focolare Movement) held a meeting in January 2020 to update the ‘Friends’ of TfE in Slovenia.
The meeting was graced with the participation of two special persons: Mgr Stanislav Zore, the Catholic Archbishop of Lublin, and His Grace Leon Novak, the new Evangelical Bishop for Slovenia (who travelled more than 400 km to be there). First there was a brief presentation of the 20-year journey of TfE, which included a 10-minute video clip, and then the participants were updated about the November meeting: to be ambassadors of reconciliation and signs of hope. This was made evident at Ottmaring and in the Town Hall of Augsburg, as well as during the commemoration and prayers in St Anne’s Evangelical church.
It was also an opportunity to see how to go ahead. The first event, coronavirus permitting, will be held on May 9, the Feast of Europe, at Graz: there will be a Day program to which persons from Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Hungary are being invited. A lively fraternal dialogue involved the representatives of the Movements and the two Bishops. The meeting came to an end with a solemn pact of mutual love.
The international Secretariat of Together for Europ
by TogetherforEurope | Mar 16, 2020 | 2020 Europe Day, News
In the Newsletter sent at the end of February, we have asked you to send us news regarding events and initiatives being prepared – as in previous years – to mark the Europe Day on May 9, 2020. We were hoping that many events would be held in public so that they could present the Christian spirit which enlivens them, a spirit that radiates hope and unity in diversity. However, Covid-19 is compelling us to face new and unexpected challenges.
Who could have possibly imagined the scenario that is opening up in many parts of the world, and that the one in Europe would be so particularly impressive?
And yet, even such a sad reality offers new opportunities. This was well expressed by Luigino Bruni, an economist and a journalist, who has been involved with Together for Europe since its birth. He stated: “We are passing through a time of deep uncertainty, which is bringing all of us together all over the world, and we still have no idea when normality could be once again the norm. A forced isolation could be a time during which we could enhance our networks; a time during which we could communicate more with one another to reassure each other that we care and that we want to live these moments keeping the others close to our heart”.
A network of prayer, of shared life experiences, of solidarity, of mutual love… cannot be jeopardized by a virus! Its true threat is that it might separate us from one another. Yes, we need to observe all indications for prevention and abide by what the authorities decide – without, however, forgetting that the other person remains always our brother or sister.
The social networks are already brimming with encouragement and the will to react positively to this global challenge and change it into an opportunity. Will our creativity manage to “invent” new ways to celebrate together May 9?
These lines serve as an introduction to our website dedicated to “Europe Day 2020”. The page will be online at the end of march. There you can discover other informations and news.
by TogetherforEurope | Feb 27, 2020 | 2020 Europe Day, Austria
“Visiting one another, talk to each other, being a gift one for the other and praying together”. The preparations for the Feast of Europe (May 9, 2020) in the Austrian city of Graz have been going on for months. The team of Together for Europe in Styria extends its invitation for an open and international Meeting.
On the occasion of the Feast of Europe (May 9, 2020) the Friends of Together for Europe from Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary will come together in the Town Hall of Graz. The meeting will give persons coming from Eastern and Western Europe the opportunity to meet and know each other. With the aim of facilitating the sharing between the participants, there will be a keynote speech about dialogue.
Several Movements and Communities of Together for Europe will share how they live out marriage and family life, the economy, the safeguarding of life and creation, civic responsibilities, etc, as Christians. They would indicate pathways for an ever more liveable Europe.
The guided tours of the city will enhance the participants’ encounter with Austria and among themselves. During the concluding ecumenical prayer meeting in the Landhaushof the pressing issues that Europe is facing will be entrusted to God through thanksgivings and prayers. The program will be enriched with musical performances.
The detailed program:
- 8.30 a.m. Arrivals, coffee and cakes
- 9.00 a.m. Greetings by the mayor Dr. Siegfried Nagl, Dr Anna Hollwäger, Superintendent Wolfgang Rehner and others
- 9.30 a.m. Prof. Dr Petra Seinmair-Pösel: “A conversation that unites us all“. The importance of dialogue for Europe
- 10.30 a.m. Break
- 11.00 a.m. Life experiences regarding the following realities:
– Marriage and family life
– Solidarity with the poor
– Civic responsibilities
– Safeguarding life
– Safeguarding creation
– A commitment for peace
– Economy at the service of the human person
- 12.00 noon. Lunch offered by the city of Graz
- 1.30 p.m. Guided tours of the city in these languages: German, Italian, Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian.
- 3.30 – 4.00 p.m. Concluding ecumenical prayer meeting in the courtyard of the palace “Landhaushof”.
Bookings are to be made not later than Sunday April 26, 2020.
f.theresia@gmx.at
0043 3842 27 513
0043 664 73577 163
The team of Together for Europe in Styria
Download the invitation (in German): 2020 05 09 MfE Oesterreich Einladung Graz
Photo: Pixabay, Map: by Tschubby – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0
by TogetherforEurope | Dec 18, 2019 | 2019 Ottmaring ! 20 Years, Experiences, reflections and interviews, News
Conleth Burns is a young man from Ireland who is active in the ‘United World Project’. He participated at the Meeting of Together for Europe which was held in Ottmaring – Augsburg (Germany). What follows is the article he posted on the website of the UW project.
Christian Churches and Movements unite to be Together for Europe
Earlier last month, I had the chance to travel to Ottmaring and Augsburg in Southern Germany to attend a 3-day meeting of a network of Christian Churches and Movements called Together4Europe. 180 people from 55 different movements, communities and churches shared three days together. Everything simultaneously translated in 5 languages as the network celebrated its 20th birthday. I represented the United World Project and was there to try and understand how faith communities are really working together for unity and for uniting the continent of Europe.
We listened to presentations about the 20-year journey where a group of people from across the continent of Europe came together, in their shared Christian identity, to be together for the whole continent. We crisscrossed the continent with experiences of encounter, prayer and hope being shared from Scotland to Ukraine, from France to the Czech Republic. Over those days, as we travelled around the continent, I toyed with two main question; what does togetherness actually look like? What does it mean to be together ‘for something’?
What does togetherness look like?
I learned about togetherness; when I heard them challenge each other to be living border crossers, ambassadors for reconciliation, and “prophetic signs for credible togetherness in Europe”.
I learned about togetherness; when we gathered in a square in Augsburg and held candles and said prayers for a more united people of Europe.
I learned about togetherness; when we listened to a diverse group of Christians talk about a journey, they had travelled over 20 years bringing together thousands of people.
I learned about togetherness; when each day at breakfast, lunch and dinner, as every new person sat down to eat, someone would check first if they needed translation, or what language was best to use at the table. People there wanted people to be able to understand and be understood, to hear and be heard.
Togetherness for this network is about embracing the diversity between them. Togetherness for them is not always easy; the challenges are geographical, theological and cultural. Yet, 20 years on, this network remains together. For them, their structure is one of network, not hierarchy. Theirs is a real togetherness, one curated over 20 years. 20 years of honest and hard-working relationship building.
4what?
The mission of Together4Europe is not only to be together for the sake of it, they really want to be positive messengers for a more united Europe in all its diversity. They aim to give a soul to the continent; they emphasise its historically Christian roots. Over the days, they principally told the story of their meetings together over the last 20 years. The untold story is often the most interesting one. Over lunch or coffee, you’d learn about the moments where people attending Together4Europe had been inspired to encounter new people, embrace new ideas and reconcile diversity as a result of the meetings. In some ways, Together4Europe begins when you leave one of the intra-continental or national meetings.
Seamus Heaney, the Irish poet and Nobel Laurate, finishes a famous poem of his ‘Scaffolding’ with the following line: “We may let the scaffolds fall confident that we have built our wall.”
Together4Europe is about building bridges, not walls. As the 20-year-old scaffolding is dismantled, this network can be sure that bridges have been built, people have been connected, and they are going to continue.
Source: http://www.unitedworldproject.org/watch/20-anni-di-insieme-per-leuropa
by TogetherforEurope | Dec 16, 2019 | 2019 Ottmaring ! 20 Years, News
The last Meeting of the Friends of Together for Europe (Ottmaring – Augsburg, November 7-9 ) was characterized by an impressive variation of participants. The varied impressions that we received mirror this variations, and here are some of them:
“We are grateful to God for this ‘phenomenon of Together’, which in all these years has developed into a training ground of mutual acquaintance, communion, unity and hope for our Continent”.
“I experienced a strong action that goes against the very many risks of fragmentation and new divisions”.
“Together for Europe enjoyed an added visibility by the fact that we were hosted in the Town Hall of Augsburg. After all, TfE is committed for a better social and civil environment in a city, as well as giving support to new politics for an enhanced peace among all Nations”.
“I have never met such persons who scan the signs of the times and, together and concretely, discern what they ought to do for the others, for their Country and the other European Countries”.
“I concluded that there cannot be a FOR without the TOGETHER”.
“The Evangelicals’ example helped me, a Catholic, to convert regarding prayer”.
“I was fascinated by the image of the ’vanishing mediator’ ( cf. Keynote speech by Herbert Lauenroth – Program + Material) regarding the frontiers of relationships. I consider this Meeting of Together for Europe to have been one of great unity among the 55 Movement of various Churches represented, and among the participants coming from 23 Countries. There I could see the political soul of a renewed Europe, in which Nations seek unity in distinction and freedom; a unity that go beyond all kinds of nationalism”.
“In Rome, where I live, I encounter few Christians belonging to other Churches; here, through the concrete experience of meeting other persons with the identical faith, although belonging to a different Tradition, I have experienced openness toward the ecumenical reality. (…) I am now more convinced of the cultural importance of the ‘7 Yeses’that we proclaim, in view of the improvement of the civil society, according to the original intuition of the Founders of a united Europe who aimed not only at achieving peace, but also at social solidarity and the brotherhood of Nations”.
“I have decided to live out “Together” in my daily life, starting with my neighbours who come from another Country”.
“Here I understood the beauty of being different. It is God who wants this difference. The more different we are, the more God is present. Discovering this is a true challenge”.
“For me, Together for Europe has become a place of hope, where the encounter and the reconciliation prepare the future in which the various Nations will be willing to come to know each other, with their history and traditions. Let’s build bridges and not walls”.
“When we, as Christians of various Churches, work together, I experience the beauty of the Church of Christ in her broadest outreach, and my Christian identity is enhanced. In the present political and religious context in Europe, I feel that I ought to give my witness even through the aid to the migrants”.
Aren’t these some of the seeds which the 20-year old experience have produced, and which may blossom again to mark new stages of brotherhood in Europe and beyond?
For information about the conference click here>>
The International Secretariat of Together for Europe
