by Beatriz Lauenroth | Nov 11, 2024 | News, 2024 Friends | Graz, Austria
For their annual meeting under the auspicious title ‘Called to Hope’ the Friends of Together for Europe were hosted in Seggau Castle near Graz.
Christians from Eastern and Western Europe express hope even in times of war and crisis. One participant summed up his experience as follows: ‘Given the current situation in Europe, I arrived here discouraged and depressed. But these days fill me with new courage and hope’. And a lady who lives in Ukraine: ‘To be ambassadors of reconciliation – this I take away from the Together for Europe meeting. I live in a country at war, where one cannot yet speak of reconciliation. But I feel that being an ambassador is possible, because an ambassador is by definition a diplomat, he doesn’t impose, he delivers and prepares… This is the mission I feel I have to take there where I live. And I will try to do it by trying to be what Jesus Moran says in his speech, ‘an artisan of a new culture’’.
The participants
The participants came from political and ecclesial backgrounds (Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Protestants, Reformed and members of the Free Churches), spiritual leaders and lay people. Among them were Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl of the Graz-Seckau Diocese, Bishop Joszef Pàl of the Timisoara Diocese (Romania), Co-President of the International Focolare Movement Jesus Moran (Italy), Reinhardt Schink head of the German Evangelical Alliance, Markus Marosch of the Round Table (Austria), Márk Aurél Erszegi of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, the former Prime Minister of Slovenia Alojz Peterle and the former Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger. A delegation from the IAO (Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy) with Secretary General Maximos Charakopoulos (Greece) and Advisor Kostantinos Mygdalis also attended the conference.
The programme
Talks, testimonies and working groups were central at the conference in Graz-Seggau. After the 2023 experience in Timisoara with the title ‘Called to unity’, the participants in Graz felt in a completely new way that the combination of their charisms and their Churches contains many graces and a hope for our tormented Europe.
Precisely on 31 October 2024 Together for Europe celebrated its 25th anniversary. And Gerhard Pross (YMCA Esslingen), who witnessed the beginning, highlighted in his opening speech the many moments of grace experienced during these years. Another witness of the time, the former bishop Christian Krause, president of the Lutheran World Federation in 1999 and at that time co-signatory of the ‘Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification’, emphasised the importance of Together for Europe in a touching audio message that sounded almost like a testament. ‘Together with others, I want to pick up the baton,’ a younger participant of the Steering Committee promised afterwards.
Three speeches took centre stage on Friday morning. Thomas Römer (YMCA Munich): ‘We want to make ourselves available so that Jesus can also bless Europe through us, to us Christians He puts the key to reconciliation in our hands. We want to aim for the love to which Jesus calls us and not for power’. Jesús Moran (Focolare Movement) explained: ‘‘Things don’t change overnight, what is important are the artisans, the cultivators of a new culture, who patiently work and sow, who hope… The whole we are talking about is not a whole in the sense of a union. Unlike union, unity considers subjects as persons. Its goal is communion… While in union diversity is a source of conflict, in unity it is a source of richness. Unity ultimately refers to something that is beyond the participants, that transcends them and is therefore not made but received as a gift’. P. Raffael Rieger (Schönstatt Movement) said: ‘We need various communities so that people in variety can find their home and grow. Collaboration between the various communities to realise the 7 Yeses (YES to family, to creation, to solidarity with the poor, to peace, to a fair economy, to peace, to commitment in society) is a sign of unity and hope for society and the world.
At the conclusion of the second day, the participants solemnly renewed the Pact of Mutual Love, the basis of their common commitment. ‘We continue on the path we have taken together, trusting that the Holy Spirit will guide us also in the future; we follow Him wherever He leads us,’ said one conference participant.
On the last day, the meeting was open to the inhabitants of the region, among them Siegfried Nagl (former mayor of Graz from 2003 to 2021), who actively supported the work of Together for Europe during his term of office.
How do we get out of the current polarisation and into Togetherness? This was the question for the panel discussion with Bishop Krautwaschl, Alojz Peterle, Eduard Heger and Vienna University Professor Ingeborg Gerda Gabriel. Christians should show more their identity with respect, but with conviction and competence. ‘Even words are actions’, the professor argued. At the same time, it is necessary to ‘disarm’ words and listen. Given the empty rhetoric and fake news, it takes strength to stay focused on essential issues like God, justice… and it is important to be able to withstand the resistance of others. In this way it is possible to move from polarisation to Togetherness.
The network is planning a major event for 2027 with the aim of sending together a powerful signal of unity and hope to Europe.
Beatriz Lauenroth
Photo: G. Neuhold
by Beatriz Lauenroth | Sep 2, 2024 | 2024 Friends | Graz, Austria, News
Why are you involved in Together for Europe?
I’ve always been interested in a lived ecumenism, where people meet at eye level, try understand one other, and to learn and benefit from one other in faith. As a Protestant Christian, I find myself in a minority situation in Austria, which is why I am always especially happy when I can speak to the Catholic brothers and sisters in our Church. This fruitful exchange happens regularly in our group in Styria (Austria) of Together for Europe. Here, genuine friendships and mutual appreciation have developed.
Do you feel European at heart?
Of course! I was born in Graz in 1965, about 50 kilometres from what was then Yugoslavia in the south and Hungary in the east. In other words, not far from the ‘Iron Curtain’ which separated the West from the East. For me, as a child and even as a young adult, the world beyond it was foreign and distant, while today you can reach it in 45 minutes by car or train! I have always been connected to Eastern Europe, however, because my maternal grandparents came from what is now Hungary, and Slovenia. At the time it was all part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and they arrived in Graz around 1910.
I am happy and grateful that today many people from the former Eastern Bloc can come to Austria. There have also been wonderful encounters here in Graz in recent years, at the international meetings of Together for Europe celebrating Europe Day in May.
Why is the Friends’ meeting in Graz this year?
Graz has a particular religious history: in the 16th century the Reformation found fertile ground here, as in many other regions of present-day Austria. Even today, evidence of this can be seen in Graz, such as the Landhaus, built by Protestants at the time; or the memorial plaque of the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler, a Protestant, who taught in Graz.
In 1997, the ‘Second European Ecumenical Assembly’ was held here, with thousands of guests from all over Europe. In 2017, on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, a memorial plaque was unveiled in the courtyard of the Landhaus. It bears the words ‘Gegeneinander – Nebeneinander – Miteinander’ (one against the other – close to each other – together), which succinctly express the eventful history of the faith. I think this was one of the main reasons why Graz was chosen.
You also work as a cabaret artist, performing in churches with your colleague Oliver Hochkofler. Do faith and humour go together?
Yes, they do! Who, if not us Christians, can laugh for the joy of the Gospel? Of course, not every kind of joke or cabaret has its place in a church. Moreover, we would never make fun of Jesus or the Bible. On the contrary: Oliver and I want to use our programmes to show how beautiful and enriching faith can be, to invite people to discover the treasure of the gospel in a humorous and informative way. In our new programme ‘Out of the blue – With the Church around the cross’, we take a look at individual focal points, but above all at what the denominations have in common. Of course, we also shed light on this or that challenge that the churches are facing. And when visitors distant from the Church say after the programme that they learned something and took away an idea or two, we are happy.
Edited by Beatriz Lauenroth
Flyer of the meeting in Graz>>
by Koni Brand | Jul 22, 2024 | 2024 Friends | Graz, Austria, Experiences, reflections and interviews, News
Why is this network so dear to you?
At the big Together for Europe meeting in Stuttgart in 2007 I realised for the first time that there are convinced and committed Christians in other Churches with whom I immediately connected. Moreover, I experienced a rich and varied life, full of joy. I would like to promote this life also in my environment.
How are you preparing for the next meeting and what is your personal experience?
We continually entrust our requests to God in a prayer we have formulated together. We booked lodgings and the conference centre and also found a company to provide translation equipment. A band is being formed for the musical programme. Some of us participate in the international online meetings of the teams dedicated to the programme and organisation, which each time give us inspiration. To keep costs down, we are looking for sponsors; some we have already found.
We are very happy that, in addition to the supporters of Together for Europe, our friends who care about the unity of the different Christian communities and unity in Europe can also attend the meeting. Those who wish to get to know our network are also invited; we are surprised by the many positive reactions. People in positions of responsibility in Churches and politics are also showing interest. I am amazed at how many good things are possible in mutual love, which is the basis for our decisions.
Europe is increasingly less Christian. How can we convey to people the importance of the cohesion of the European peoples?
I would spontaneously say that we should let everyone experience togetherness. If people get to know each other, they gain trust and experience that they can complement and enrich each other. It is precisely this that I experience again and again in Together for Europe.
How do you live Together for Europe in your daily life?
Every person is a child of God and therefore I aim to treat my neighbours with care and respect. This makes it easier to face many of life’s difficulties, because one feels acceptance and support. I am always deeply touched when, without any expectations, I do something with Christians from other communities and the elementary aspects of life are dealt with in great agreement.
Cornelia Koni Brand
by Koni Brand | Jun 26, 2024 | News, 2024 Friends | Graz, Austria
In 2024 the Friends of Together for Europe (TfE) will meet in Austria
It is wonderful (even if challenging!) to feel “called” to live and work in a reality greater than oneself: one does so, with joy and an ever-new impetus, on a well-founded Hope! Because, when God calls, we can always count on his grace that leads, accompanies, gives strength… And it is even more beautiful to discover that others, too, have received the same call – but with different tones and concrete expressions. This is how it is when different charisms meet! Converging in great freedom, discovering the myriad things that unite us, amplifies the beauty of each, refines and strengthens common goals.
Last year, in Timisoara/Romania, the Friends of TfE once again experienced being called to unity, an unforgettable experience, which filled their hearts, minds and souls.
Now their next meeting is approaching; this year it will be hosted by the TfE network in Styria, in Seggau, near the regional capital Graz/Austria.
Despite the fact that the world – including Europe – seems to be crumbling, there is a growing number of people who have been walking together for 25 years, experiencing the generative power of peace in going with an open heart towards the different, in welcoming each other even when it costs, in serving the Church and society together. These people know that the word ‘hope’ is not something that only refers to the future, but something already alive among them. “Called to Hope!” Hence the choice of this title for the meeting in Graz.
In and around the picturesque Hotel Schloss Seggau there will be time for getting to know each other, for dialogue, for making plans together for the good of our Churches and societies, and… also for an ‘ecumenical walk’ through the city of Graz, which is full of history in this respect. There will be opportunities to meet with leaders of local Churches and civil society. And, of course, there will be times for learning more about our charisms and for prayer.
We look forward with joy and full of renewed HOPE to this appointment – open to the surprises that its human-divine potential holds in store for us!
Cornelia Koni Brand
Flyer Meeting Friends of TfE>>
by Beatriz Lauenroth | May 19, 2024 | 2024 Europe Day, Austria, News
A Europe Day for young and older people was held in Klagenfurt (Austria)
On 8 May, Together for Europe celebrated Europe Day 2024 together with the Carinthia Region and Europahaus. Schools from the region, EU project promoters and representatives of various Movements that form part of the Network participated.
The varied programme included prayers and personal reflections on Europe by the participants.
At the end of the ceremony, a choir of forty pupils sang the well-known melody of the European anthem (9th symphony by Ludwig von Beethoven) in a new version of the text developed by the Lutheran theologian Herwig Sturm. The singing conveyed gratitude, hope and joy to all those who were there.
A day of celebration and encouragement for all generations!
Manfred and Fini Wieser on behalf of the Team TfE in Carinthia
by Gusti Oggenfuss | May 3, 2024 | Austria, Experiences, reflections and interviews, News
On the theme ‘Seeking peace together and what is best for the city’ (cf. Jer 29:7), some 30 Christians committed to Together for Europe (TfE) met on Tuesday 16 April 2024 in the parish hall of St Paul’s in Innsbruck, to take a shared look at the city of Innsbruck and the region of Tyrol with reference to this motto.
They were joined by Thomas Römer (YMCA) and Michael Guttenberger (Vineyard), who had come from Munich.
Thomas Römer began by inviting the participants to introduce themselves according to their membership of a Church, Community or group: Schönstatt Movement, Lumen Christi Tirol, Focolare Movement, Sant’Egidio, ENC (European Network of Communities), Free Christian Community.
The speakers realised, with good intuition, that there was still a good ‘room for progress’ in the relationship between the groups present, and asked each movement to briefly expound on their characteristics. On the basis of this, Thomas Römer emphasised the essentials of each one, thus enabling a deeper mutual understanding and greater appreciation of the different charisms. In this process, carefully accompanied by the two long-standing ‘fighters’ of Together for Europe, all present experienced and enhanced gratitude to God for the different gifts and charisms, which appeared in all their evidence. The joy of fraternity was tangible among all.
Reviewing the history of TfE, Römer emphasised the decisive contribution of the Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity.
In the course of the dialogue, several participants asked how the goal of ‘Together’ (for Innsbruck, for Tyrol, for Europe) could be carried further. One of the answers was surprising in its apparent banality: ‘Having coffee together!’. By this, Thomas Römer meant meeting without ulterior motives, with the sole desire to get to know each other better, to appreciate diversity as a whole and to enjoy it. Other points were explained in a PowerPoint.
At the end of the official part, much gratitude was shown to the two speakers, accompanied by refreshments with snacks and drinks, which allowed for further conversations and an even deeper getting to know each other.
by Gusti Oggenfuss, TfE Innsbruck
Photo: Armin Inglin, Anna Maria Gasser-Renzler
ACTIVATE YOUR CITY>>
