July 30, 2007
Strains of harp music wafted into my waking consciousness early this morning. Through half-opened eyes, I became aware of lush green fields and trees, and mountains enveloped in clouds. Perhaps I was in Heaven already? But no. This was the same bed we had been sleeping in for the past two weeks. Admittedly, I had […]
July 23, 2007
Seen from our outdoor classroom, the summer snow on the Bernese Alps sparkled against the cloudless azure sky. A vintage paddle steamer plied the pale blue waters of Lake Thun through a fleet of bobbing white sails. Faint sounds of Swiss cowbells in the distance added to the idyllic ambience of roses and lavender, archways […]
July 16, 2007
‘Now I understand why the French didn’t want to acknowledge God in the EU constitution!’ said Corrie as we emerged from the Reformation Museum in Geneva. ‘All those terrible religious wars!’ Corrie and her fellow travellers had been studying the exhibition in the museum about the eight bloody wars fought between Catholics and Protestants over […]
July 9, 2007
One of the biggest surprise discoveries so far on this year’s Heritage trip-and there have been several-was that of the vital and diverse Francke Foundations in the Eastern German city of Halle. I had taught about Halle for decades-as a centre of Pietism that had breathed new life into the Lutheran movement after the religious […]
July 2, 2007
Amsterdam was paying tribute this weekend to a woman whom one paper called a ‘figurehead of goodness’, as we started our four-week Summer School of European Studies in the city. In a funeral service carried on national television, attended by prime ministers past and present, Major Alida Bosshardt of the Salvation Army was honoured by […]
June 25, 2007
So, the powers-that-be have settled on a new European treaty that will not be called a constitution. Good. That means we are not forced to have a European constitution that ignores God and the Judaic-Christian heritage. What we do have is a much-needed agreement treaty to help move the European Union forward. Marathon through-the-night discussions […]
June 18, 2007
When I was a teenager, my brother gave me for my birthday a book of fifty-five sermons by John Wesley. Now most teenagers would have thought such a gift to be a joke, and responded with: ‘Just wait till your birthday comes around-I’ll get you back!’ However, I received the gift as well-meant. For around […]
May 21, 2007
The oft-quoted saying-‘In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; in all things, Charity’-has been attributed wrongly to various well-known historical figures, including St Augustine and melanchthon, Luther’s colleague, and John Wesley. Last week I wrote about the Together for Europe event in Stuttgart which admirably reflected the spirit of this saying. How thankful we can be […]
May 14, 2007
A growing ecumenism of the heart is clearly one of the signs of hope in Europe today. This was demonstrated most tangibly among the 2000 leaders from 240 European movements and communities who gathered in Stuttgart at Miteinander für Europa (Together for Europe) over the past few days. This was no search for a 'lowest […]
May 7, 2007
In the face of the torture and murder of three Christians this past month in Malatya, we must offer the Turkish people the same trust asked of them during the Reconciliation Walk, writes Matthew Hand, a specialist in Turkish history. Hundreds of Christians visiting Turkey in the 1990's on the Reconciliation Walk to mark the […]
April 30, 2007
‚ÄòMummy, did the world ever forgive Germany?‚Äô asked Zsusanna‚Äôs eight-year-old son. He had been watching Discovery Channel programmes on the Second World War. ‚ÄòYes, of course,‚Äô his mother replied. ‚ÄòThen they‚Äôll also forgive us Serbs, won‚Äôt they?‚Äô he said with a relieved sigh. Stories like this, shared at the Women in Leadership conference held near […]
April 26, 2007
Europe needs three-dimensional people: rooted in the past, anticipating the future, yet living in the present. Such are People of Hope. For hope is founded on the past, focussed on the future and fleshed out in the present. Three-dimensional Europeans ground their hope on the God who has revealed himself in history‚Äìhis character, his acts, […]
