To our wonder

The renewal of European society is not a utopia. It has already begun. Compared with the meeting in 2004, which launched the dialogue between movements and new communities – including such Catholic movements as the Focolari, St. Edigio Community and Renewal in the Spirit – the second “Together for Europe” (Stuttgart, 11-13 May) highlighted the social dimensions of Christian witness. “A renewal that is born from the personal relation with the crucified and risen Jesus is the greatest service that Christian can render to modern Europe”, declared the Lutheran-Evangelical pastor Ulrich Parzany, of Pro Christ. Families, cities, the poor, the economy, justice and peace: the experiences of men and women who are devoting themselves in their daily life to build “the Europe of the Spirit” are the real protagonists of the 2007 meeting. Sir’s correspondent at Stuttgart, Barbara Sartori, proposes some of them. ITALY, PEACE LABORATORIES. Maria and Gianni Salerno come from Milan. Their “peace laboratories” were born from the horrified reaction of a group of families to the tragedy of 11 September. “We asked ourselves what we families with children could do – they explain -. We started out from the will to build relations of peace in our families and with everyone we met”. In this way “laboratories” were formed with some friends who share the same ideals: they serve for studying the Word of God, but also to conduct specific projects to bring the message of peace and brotherhood to the areas where we live. “At first there were 50 of us, of whom 20 children. We produced our own Christmas cards, painted plaster casts, and made Christmas and Easter cakes with the slogan ‘We are peacemakers’ – they recall -. We then expanded, both in number, and in our range of products. Many citizens became aware of us and support us. To our wonder, a chain of supermarkets chose our cakes as Christmas presents for their staff. The funds thus generated are used to finance aid projects in Africa”. SWITZERLAND, THERE TOO THE PROOR EXIST . Mairus Buhlmann, of Bern, belongs to the Evangelical movement called Vineyard. “Our founder, John Wimbel, said that to be a member of Vineyard you had to love the poor. But I thought: we live in Switzerland, here the poor don’t exist! In the Bible I read that there are some groups of people whom God protects in a special way: widows, orphans, the poor, and strangers. I then opened my eyes and I saw: some young African refugees came to our church. I decided to go and get to know them”. A friendship was thus born; and from it various initiatives arose. “We hold courses in sewing and give German lessons to other immigrants; we distribute food and clothing. Some of them, having moved to other countries, have continued the work. So the network of solidarity has grown”. GERMANY: “TOGETHER FOR BERLIN”. Henriette von Wuffen forms part of a group of volunteers of various Christian confessions, who decided two years ago to form a network. This led to the foundation of the ecumenical agency “Together for Berlin”. The chosen motto is “Come on, volunteers! Let us together change the face of our city”. “We wish to help Christians to be, according to the Gospel, salt and light and, drawing from the source of God’s love, to practice love for our neighbour in our everyday lives. We evaluate the gifts, desires and possibilities of each; we advise them and direct them to volunteer service in the social institutions, to visits to the elderly, and to work with the homeless or with refugees. Of course a person can find an opportunity to engage in volunteer service without going through an agency – comments Henriette -, but we realized that our work actually encourages people to devote themselves to others”. ALBANIA: A FUTURE FOR THE YOUNG. Klodian Kojaski is a young Albanian member of the movement “Children of Light”, founded in Scutari in 1991 as a sign of hope in a country in a state of disintegration, with many of its young people emigrating and with many others wandering through the streets without a profession, without an aim and without a future. “This was the situation with which I had to live every day, when I was a law student. We met together with other youths in Scutari, in our little wooden parish church. A sense of brotherhood and feeling part of the Body of Christ, and a growth of knowledge of God and of the Church through service, are the core values of our movement. Love for our neighbour must be expressed in our actions in daily life”. Thanks to the help of a consortium of social cooperatives in Pisa, Klodian and his friends started up the project “The Shop”, to enable Albanian youth to acquire skills and find a job. “The real challenge – he recounts – was to help them to love what they do and consider it important. It seemed impossible, but today, when I meet these youngsters who were filled with anger against the world and disillusioned with life, I thank the Lord for having given me the grace of meeting this challenge”.