by Beatriz Lauenroth | May 4, 2022 | Experiences, reflections and interviews, News
The Steering Committee of Together for Europe (TfE) met in Munich
The Munich YMCA hosted the annual gathering of the TfE Steering Committee which was attended by 20 members and several invited guests, from 27 to 29 April 2022.
The participants experienced a wave of fresh air that was brought about by the young adults belonging to the European Network of Communities (ENC), the YMCA, the Focolare and the Schönstatt Movements: they wanted to reflect with the first generation of the network upon the future of ‘Together’. The guests carried out their task with delicacy and respect. Mária Špesová (ENC) from Slovakia said: “In TfE I see something sacred that grew in these 20 plus years. I feel invited to enter this rich experience on my tiptoes”. Also, Georges El Hage (Syndesmos): “Here I feel free to express my thoughts and people listen attentively. We are welcomed with great trust”.
Program
The program of these days included numerous spiritual inputs, prayers and a lively exchange of ideas. The recurrent topic was the war in Ukraine. During the first evening, several persons from Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Poland and Slovenia were linked via zoom to share their experiences of practical help. An Italian participant affirmed: “We are seeing the birth of a new Europe based on solidarity”. And Zsuzsanna Klemencz (Sant’Egidio/Hungary) stated: “We ought to disarm ourselves and let others disarm us. How? By putting aside our arrogance and our hatred”. According to this Hungarian, this is what true disarmament means; this will give rise to a “peaceful people”, disarmed to win the war. Franꞔois Deloors (Sant’Egidio/Belgium) added: “This is the attitude that we strive to constantly put in practice between us, and thus, as TfE, we can offer it to Europe and the entire world”.
Porto 2022 and Timisoara 2023
“Here I feel at home” was the comment offered by Clotilde Pestana of the Schönstatt Movement. She travelled to Munich with another member of the National Committee of Portugal to help out in the preparation for the “Meeting of the Friends” scheduled for November 2022 in Porto. “Portugal has a lot to offer to Europe: openness, hospitality and a rich culture”. These are but a few of the reasons to hold the 2022 ‘Meeting of the Friends” in the Country on the far western side of Europe.
In 2023, the ‘Meeting of the Friends’ will be held in Romania, in Timisoara. Ilona Toth of the Steering Committee updated us regarding the many conversations and meetings she had in Romania. The encounter with the Orthodox world and the multicultural reality of Eastern Europe, among others, require a detailed and in-depth preparation.
Witnesses for humanity
During the meeting it became ever more clear that TfE, faced with the great sufferings in Europe and in the world, is called to support the “incomplete” and to go down the rifts of humanity, which are injustice, hatred and war.
Thomas Römer (YMCA Munich) underlined: “Indeed, most probably we are living through a change of epoch, an epochal upheaval, so to speak. Let’s not allow evil to win, but let’s defeat it with good”.
As Römer noted, death and resurrection are entwined in the history of humanity. He was introducing the participants to the renewal of the Pact of Mutual Love, based on Jn 13, 34. With fraternal encounters with the Risen Lord in the midst, TfE continually witnesses hope for humanity.
Beatriz Lauenroth
Photo: Diego Goller / Group photo: Thomas Barthel, YMCA Munich
by TogetherforEurope | Apr 23, 2022 | 2022 Europe Day, News
Activities to mark the 2022 Europe Day
BELGIUM: “Europe: Artisans of Peace…”
This is the theme that Together for Europe chose to celebrate Europe Day with persons that will gather in the Chapel for Europe in Brussels on May 7, at 2 p.m. There will also be the possibility to follow proceedings online.
Movements that adhere to our network have produced short videos that present four initiatives of solidarity.
Pastor Walter Kriechbaum of Munich, Bavaria and his wife Annemarie of the International Association YMCA will share with us their experiences of reconciliation in Germany, Poland, and Ukraine that were aimed to heal wounds caused by World War Two. These will be followed by a brief reflection based on Scripture and faith in Christ and a moment of prayer.
An online webinar will allow participants to offer their input during a sharing session that will follow.
ITALY: “Education: our only possibility”
In Italy, the 2022 Feast of Europe will be celebrated with a video conference on May 8 at 6.30 p.m.
First of all Dr Carina Rossa will give a keynote speech regarding the “Global impact on education” which Pope Francis proposed to the entire education reality in the world. This will be followed by a series of ‘good practices’ of informal education that are being carried out by young people belonging of several Movements in various regions of Italy and Croatia. The last item will be a witnessing that shows the influence that the principles of Together for Europe exert when holding a dialogue with any type of diversity and when striving for reconciliation in situations of conflict.
The link to follow the event is: https://www.youtube.com/FocolariRoma/live
GERMANY: “Meeting and praying in Europe on Zoom”
Following the prayer meeting we held on March 2, we are once again inviting persons in Germany and Europe to join us for an intense prayer on May 10 at 7.30 p.m. This will be conducted in two languages (German and English); it will go on for about 90 minutes.
by TogetherforEurope | Apr 5, 2022 | 2022 Europe Day, Austria, News
Together for Europe – culture of reciprocity
Since 1999 has grown Together for Europe, an initiative of already more than 300 Christian communities of different Churches. It is a network which is engaged in shared goals where the charism of each community comes into play. It´s „culture of reciprocity“ contains that individuals and peoples get to know and appreciate each other, become reconciled and support each other.
Saturday, 7 May 2022, 9 a.m. – 4.30 p.m.
Minoritensaal, Mariahilferplatz 3, 8020 Graz, Austria
Free parking: Access via Volksgartenstraße-Afritschgasse
Admission: voluntary donation (approx. € 25 for food and conference fee)
The event will be held in German, translations will be provided.
Programme:
| 9:00 am |
Arrival |
| 9:30 am |
Welcome and spiritual impulse |
| 10:15 am |
Ways out of divisiveness
Exchange of experiences with participants from Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, … |
| 12:00 |
Lunch break |
| 13:30 |
Small city tour (optional) |
| 15.00 |
Attunement to the prayer for peace |
| 15:30 to 16:30 |
Prayer for Peace in the Cloister of Minorite Monastery |
Registration for the event
anm.gramfe@gmx.at until Monday, 2. 5. 2022
with surname, first name, language/s, place of residence, country
Overnight reservation (if required)
office@bhs-exerzitienhaus.at, Ms Anna Gigl
Exerzitienhaus der Barmherzigen Schwestern, Mariengasse 6a, 8020 Graz
(Near the main station, 15 minutes walk to the Minorite Monastery)
COVID-19 measures according to the current regulations, in any case negative PCR test not older than 72 hours or daily negative antigen test.
Organiser: Together for Europe – Austria together4europe.org/Österreich
With the kind support of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau
by Sr. Nicole Grochowina | Apr 4, 2022 | Experiences, reflections and interviews, News
The character of the Church 3.0
“The character of the Church 3.0, and thus even the character of our 200-strong meeting, has completely changed once Ukraine was attacked. All nice thoughts were swept away; at Baar we became aware that this is not a time for nice and important words. Rather, it is a time in which the people of God, and therefore even the Church, ought to gather in prayer. Reunited once again. Existentially reunited. And the prayers need to go beyond all boundaries.
Some days ago, during the prayer session that involved more than a thousand persons, we promised to “keep on praying”. And this is what we are doing: last week Austria continued to pray, and now it is us in Switzerland that came together to pray. Whenever Communities and Movements come together, there is a lot of power…
Undauntedly, all political meetings are important and necessary. However, as our Ukrainian brothers and sisters recently prayed, also beseeching the transformation of hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, go hand in hand. It moves side by side and it helps.
A praying and communitarian Church
We became aware that the Church 3.0 is a Church that prays. It is a communitarian Church because it prays of behalf of others, and its vitality comes from the charisms and not from numbers and structure. It is a wounded Church, and for this reason she relies upon God’s compassion – and not only for herself.
Therefore we prayed, and we experienced something of the new form of the Church. There was a feeling of a new beginning. We were conscious that in our prayer, words and actions, we were journeying with and Ukrainian brothers and sisters. In our prayers we included our confusion, fear and lack of words. Something will grow out of the ashes.
Right now, let there be peace: just peace and the possibility to protect persons. It’s quite sad to see persons being used as power pawns. And it is even sadder when their life is taken away for this reason. We hope that the power that we felt here during our meeting may bring about peace and life in the world”.
Being Christian in a post-Church-society, sr Nicole Grochowina, 12 March 2022
Source: miteinander-wie-sonst.ch
Photo: Fokolar-Bewegung Schweiz; Dialoghotel Eckstein
by TogetherforEurope | Mar 21, 2022 | 2022 Europe Day, News
Journeying with young people toward May 9
Who would have thought it possible? And yet, it happened. War is raging in Europe. We’ve seen many protesting in the streets, or praying in churches and homes, while millions are fleeing. When we were asking ourselves what the ‘leitmotiv’ of the next Europe Day should be, we never imagined that it would tragically regard the desire that is inherent in the hearts of all men and women: peace.
Bearing witness to reconciled diversity
Every nation possesses a rich history and culture: through which, along the centuries, they express this universal yearning. The event we mark on May 9 came about from the same desire: following World War Two, several farsighted politicians agreed to establish a new order in Europe. Even though the fruit of their effort, the European Union, does not fully reflect the initial intentions, in this tragic moment we Christians are called to nurture the peace that God himself gave us 2000 years ago. Let us continue to pray, to help in practical ways those in need and to witness that reconciled diversity is possible!
Young people, builders of a better future
“Allow your voice to be heard!” is what the European Union is appealing for on its website as it designated 2022 as the “European Year of Young People”. The appeal continues: “The initiative shall focus upon the importance of European young people in the building of a better future: greener, more inclusive and more digital”. And now we can add: “more peaceful”! We hope that many young people will make their voice heard – including on the occasion of Europe Day – to promote a Continent where diversity is not a ‘message of war’, but an ‘invitation’ to discover together a path that leads toward a common pleasant future. They will also do this by remembering the other young people who are victims of this absurd war.
Prayer journey towards 9th May
This year, during the six week of preparation for May 9, we will be accompanied by prayer texts that have been composed by our groups in Ukraine, Ireland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia. The ‘Schuman Declaration’ of May 9, 1950, starts with these words: “World peace cannot be safeguarded without creative initiatives on the same level of the dangers that threaten it”. This message is more relevant now than ever before.
Ilona Tóth
1_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_27-March-2-April-2022_Ukraine
1_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_27-March-2-April-2022_Ukraine_original-language
2_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_3-9-April-2022_Ireland
3_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_10-16-April-2022_Czech-Republic
4_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_17-23-April-2022_Croatia
5_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_24-30-April-2022_Romania
6_Prayer-for-peace-TfE_1-8-May-2022_Slovenia
by Sr. Nicole Grochowina | Mar 8, 2022 | News
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you” (John 14:27)
“Let’s keep on praying!” “Let’s remain united in prayer!” “Shalom Ukraine!” These were some of the moving salutations that many persons shared following the prayers held on 2nd March for peace in Ukraine.
People from more than 1,000 places joined the brothers and sisters of Ukraine in prayer through a digital communication link. They connected from Germany, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy and Israel.
The relationship was mutual: the latter shared their experiences and fears, but also the courage of the brothers and sisters in Kiev, Lviv and other regions of Ukraine – and, at the same time, their European brothers and sisters joined them in prayer to show them and clearly state: You are not alone, and may God grant us peace!
The invitation for this virtual prayer ‘meeting’ was issued by the network Together for Europe. However, it was immediately clear that these prayers had to be held on a wider base. In fact, many other networks joined in and took an active part; one such network was the Evangelische Allianz Deutschland that made available the digital platform.
During the prayer ‘meeting’, there were various inputs from Ukraine and Russia; once again, it was important to listen and to beseech God’s mercy, because only this can make up for our lack of words.
The words spoken were essential and the shared experiences quite impressive. Miroslav e Viktor strongly pointed out that what their Country needed was the wisdom of Nehemiah (See Book of Nehemiah Ch. 1-6). In one hand he held the defence weapon, while in the other he rebuilt the city. They both sustained that the war in Ukraine has awakened the body of God from its sleep – it was awakened to the reality of God in a battle that is concrete as well as spiritual.
These phrases were saturated with experience. They were illustrated with stories of the families that they both had to take to a safe place, and, while worrying about them, they opted to remain in Ukraine. They spoke about their experiences of responding to attack warnings; indeed, such warnings sounded while they were praying, and this meant that several brothers and sisters had to leave the prayer meeting and find some shelter. They made us aware that other brothers and sisters were at the moment fleeing or crowded in bunkers – or that they did not dare anymore use internet; or simply, words fail them when it comes to describe what they are going through.
Aware of this reality, a lot of persons joined in prayer in the name of Jesus; they prayed a moving bidding prayer together with the brothers and sisters in Ukraine and shared their worries also with the chat. It was a wave of powerful prayer. Together for Europe became a concrete and powerful reality.
At the end, the appeal was a clear one: let’s keep on praying! And: in keeping on praying we are all strengthened, because, after all, prayer benefits all of us.
The friends from Austria immediately accepted this invitation:
On Wednesday 9 March from 19-20.30 (CET).
we will continue to pray in a digital meeting (in German and English).
Sr. Nicole Grochowina
Photo: unsplash.com
