wfn.org | Diaconal ministers journey to Bosnia

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3106 notes).

Note 3106 by UMNS on Aug. 6, 1996 at 16:16 Eastern (6508 characters).

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CONTACT: Linda Green                              392(10-71){3106}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              Aug. 6, 1996

Diaconal ministers find
death, destruction in Bosnia

                        A UMNS News Feature
                         by Kathy Gilbert*

     A decade ago, the eyes of the world were turned to a golden
city, host of the 1984 Winter Olympics. The winter games were held
in the sophisticated, cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo -- a city rich
in history and culture in what was then Yugoslavia.
     When 11 United Methodist diaconal ministers entered Sarajevo
in the summer of 1996, the golden metropolis had been replaced by
a city of death and destruction, torn apart by ethnic and
religious conflicts.
     "Once beautiful Sarajevo is ugly now," said Elayne Shults of
the Northwest Texas Annual Conference. "Buildings are scarred by
mortar bullets and fire. Automobile skeletons line the streets.
Parks and public lawns are overgrown like neglected secret gardens
and the stench of a city too long denied a water supply is
pervasive."
     The Peace Mission Caravan to Bosnia was sponsored by the
Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the Board of Global
Ministries. The group helped repair damage to a school gymnasium
and worked in youth houses, Bosnia's version of community centers.
     "This trip was designed to help diaconal ministers experience
sabbath and to make a difference with love, service and justice,"
said Joaquin Garcia of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
"Peace is a very fragile commodity, and we have to work very hard
to maintain peace in the world. Ethnic cleansing is not just
something that is happening in Bosnia; it is happening all over
the world."
     Garcia said this unique approach to sabbath time provides a
"creative dislocation" enabling participants to become directly
involved in service, deepen their faith and global consciousness,
and renew their call to ministry.
     This is the second mission caravan to be sponsored by the
churchwide boards of Higher Education and Ministry and Global
Ministries. In October 1995, a group of 16 volunteers spent a week
exploring, serving and reflecting at Shalom communities in Los
Angeles. Future mission caravans are planned for Haiti and the
Sand Mountain Shalom Community in Alabama.
     Bonnie Light, a member of the Bosnia mission caravan from the
West Ohio Conference, read a statement to the DIAKONIA World
Conference held in Friedrichroda, Germany, July 3-11. 
     In her statement she quoted from an article written by Doug
Hostetter for the May-June issue of The Other Side, an
independent, nonprofit magazine published in Philadelphia. "Most
Americans would have a hard time finding Bosnia on a map. Few of
us understand who are the warring parties, what their conflicting
goals are, or why this region erupted in violence four years ago.
.. As Christians, our commitment must be to God, who transcends

all nations and races, even all forms of worship."
     Jack Rogers, another member of the mission caravan from the
North Indiana Conference, found part of the answer for such hatred
and slaughter symbolized in a stained glass window of the Roman
Catholic Cathedral in Sarajevo.
     "Although bullet holes appear in several windows, the picture
of Christ in the main window is missing all of the glass that
makes up his body. The body of Christ is missing in Sarajevo, in
Bosnia, the Balkans, Europe, the United States and the world," he
said.
     "As an individual of the peace caravan I plugged bullet
holes, listened and looked. As a member of the United Methodist
Church I can be proud of the work being done by the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) in Bosnia," said Rogers.
"But as a member of the church universal, I am ashamed that we,
the church, the body of Christ, will permit these crimes to
continue."
     The group presented a resolution regarding peace in the
former Yugoslavia to the DIAKONIA World Conference that urged
"brothers and sisters of the 'diakonia,' regardless of ethnic,
racial, or religious origins, to speak against injustice, racism,
or any other divisive oppressive action of one group against
another." 
     In addition to asking participants to act for reconciliation,
"We request participants to petition their governments to
strengthen their commitments to the peace process in the countries
formerly known as Yugoslavia."
     Susan Groseclose of the Tennessee Annual Conference said the
motto of the youth houses is "It is easier to build a child than
to rebuild a person." She put her thoughts about the trip into
poetry. In "The Youth House," she captures some of her feelings
about the work the diaconal ministers did in the Bosnia youth
houses:
     A safe haven for Muslim, Serb and Croat children.
     A gathering where all children are welcomed.
     An opportunity to learn new skills, to express oneself, to
          play.
     A home where there is love, laughter and healing.

     Shults said the diaconal minister is called upon to be an
educator for peace for all ages.
     "The divisiveness that leads to hatred and war does not
happen just in some distant geographical spot on the map," she
said. "Disagreements will always exist, but they must be handed
with love, compassion and a willingness to work together for the
common good. Education is the key."
     The participants in the Peace Mission Caravan to Bosnia were:
     * Terry N. Gladstone, Detroit Annual Conference
     * Joe Allen Hamby, Western North Carolina Annual Conference
     * Susan Groseclose, Tennessee Annual Conference
     * Bonnie Light, West Ohio Annual Conference
     * Jose Malave, Puerto Rico Methodist Church
     * Jeanette Pettit, Minnesota Annual Conference
     * John H. Rogers, North Indiana Annual Conference
     * Elayne Steele Shults, Northwest Texas Annual Conference
     * Sharon Rubey, Board of Global Ministries
     * Joe Agne, Caravan Coordinator, New York
     * Joaquin Garcia, Coordinator, Board of Higher Education and
Ministry.
                              #  #  #

     * Gilbert is a staff member in the Office of Interpretation
of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, Nashville,
Tenn.

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