November 22, 2014
The Dutch have been getting their knickers in a twist these days about the skin colour of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), Sinterklaas’s helper. But perhaps the commotion is all about the wrong person. For the earliest icons of Sint Nicolas or Sinterklaas, the origin of Santa Claus, suggest that he was the black man. Maybe […]
November 17, 2014
Dr William Yoder, a missionary based in Minsk whom I recently met in England, sent out this commentary on the Ukrainian crisis last week, offering perspectives at odds with much western media coverage. Whether or not we agree with this view, we should recall the prayer of St Francis: ‘Grant that I may not so […]
November 10, 2014
The events of 25 years ago in Berlin commemorated with sound and spectacle this weekend came suddenly and unexpectedly. Yet a revolution of the human spirit had been underway for at least decade which led to the triumph of the ‘soft powers’ of love, truth and justice over tyranny. Recently I was invited to guest […]
November 3, 2014
If Europeans studied their history, they would count their blessings, realise they were freer and better off than at any other time of history and would therefore not despair and complain. Delivering the annual Europe Lecture in The Hague last week, the 76-year old former president of Latvia, Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, drew these conclusions speaking […]
October 27, 2014
A Copernican revolution in thinking was needed to establish healthy foundations for European society. Dr Michael Schluter challenged church and organisational leaders from across the continent to embrace Relational Thinking last week at the annual General Assembly of the European Evangelical Alliance in Northampton, north of London. Founder of the Jubilee Centre in Cambridge, Dr […]
October 20, 2014
The decor on the platform depicted the grey concrete of the Berlin wall. Graffiti slogans spoke on behalf of ‘democracy’: ‘I miss how loved I was 25 years ago’; ‘I feel I have let you down’… The setting was Zofin Palace on an island in the Vlata River flowing through picturesque Prague. The occasion was […]
October 13, 2014
Great things are done when men and mountains meet; this is not done by jostling in the street. –William Blake With this quote from the English mystic poet, we were welcomed this weekend to a ‘salon meeting’ in Mountain House in Caux, high above Montreux, with a breathtaking view of Lake Leman and the French […]
October 6, 2014
Thursday this week, October 9, marks the 25th anniversary of a remarkable event that took place in the eastern Germany city of Leipzig, inspiring millions to take to the streets across the country and to tear down the Berlin Wall exactly one month later. The Nicolaikirche was the starting point of this movement of peaceful […]
September 29, 2014
The responsibility of the ‘eye-witness generation’ to pass on the memory of the remarkable events of twenty-five years ago was on the minds of former senior YWAM Europe leaders as we gathered for the annual Caleb Forum last weekend in Einigen, Switzerland. The new generation of leaders now assuming responsibility has little or no living […]
September 22, 2014
So what does the desertification of Africa have to do with us Europeans? Much in every way, believes a former Minister of the Environment for Benin, speaking this weekend at the European Economic Summit in Amsterdam. Luc Gnacadja brings his Christian faith to his campaign against land degradation, promoting global sustainability through care for land […]
September 15, 2014
An Irish-German wedding in Munich last week prodded me to check out the role of the Irish in shaping the story of Germany. Leah is from Dublin; Martin from Munich. Their romance began during a Schuman Centre summer school in Holland two years ago. Now they were inviting us, along with forty Irish friends and […]
September 8, 2014
There’s little in the news these days to give us much hope. Who looks forward to hearing more news about The Ukraine, Ebola in Africa, ISIS in Iraq and bombardments in the Gaza strip? Twenty-five years ago, there was much rejoicing as we followed the news–from Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania, and later […]
