wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Ecumenism is a way of life

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World Council of Churches - Feature

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For immediate release - 03/06/2009 16:02:01

>ECUMENISM IS A WAY OF LIFE

>By Sara Speicher (*)
>Free photos available, see below

Sister Pina Sandu says that in her Orthodox monastery, in the
mountains of Romania, they practise "touristic spirituality".
With a resort built up around the monastery, "like it or not" the
tourists "hear the bells, hear the services three times a day…
They hear, they feel, they know that something is happening." As
a result, their curiosity leads them into the yard and into the
church – "small, sure steps towards something beautiful."

Sister Pina and five other sisters – two each from Orthodox,
Roman Catholic, and Protestant orders – are providing a similar
subtle but radical witness at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey
outside of Geneva, Switzerland, for students and visitors alike.

The sisters live together, coordinate the worship and prayer
life at the Ecumenical Institute, participate in classes – and
embody a sense of "ecumenical spirituality" in daily life. 

Their presence alone, in their striking habits, is noticeable to
all who use the Institute for meetings and events. Visitors come
from church or development groups to secular organizations like
Rolex or the regional Swiss television company, all of whom are
invited to take part in the prayer life at the Institute. 

But their main role over their year at Bossey is to provide
pastoral support for the students. Rev. Emmanuel Twahirwa, a
graduate student coming from the Anglican Church in Rwanda,
appreciates their worship facilitation. 

"When you come, you find yourself lost in academic study, you
may end up forgetting your spiritual life," he says. "We have to
balance the two." 

Even more, he appreciates their presence: "Sisters from
different denominations, living together – it is important for us
to learn from them."

Dealing with the tensions generated in the classroom is one way
the sisters model ecumenical relationships. Sister Pina describes
how after heated discussions, they would walk from the classroom
to the kitchen for a meal, and the sisters would smile and talk.

"It is a very delicate way of knowing which is the border
between academic discussion and spiritual relationship or
friendship," she emphasizes. "I hear about Catholics, Orthodox,
Protestants. It is totally different when I meet a Catholic, when
I meet a Protestant…. The person makes me love what the person
does."

The sisters themselves were uncertain how it would work living
together. Sister Sperancia Mulashani Thadeo, from the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Tanzania, reflected that she had met other
Roman Catholic sisters but "could not imagine" how it would work
living with them. "I thought perhaps they would stay in other
parts," she says ruefully. 

The reality she found was that it is possible to live together,
and the "happiest of times is sharing about our life, what we are
doing and our spiritual life." 

"For us," says Ivy Athipozhiyil, a Dominican sister from India,
"ecumenical spirituality is living together. We are sharing
everything, laughing. This we offer, without knowing, to others,
like the students. For them it is a sign."

Their tangible witness is noticed not just by the students.
Sister Ivy recalls overhearing a member of the Joint Working
Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of
Churches, who were meeting at Bossey. "One bishop looked at us
walking together, and he said [to another participant], ‘we are
talking, talking, talking – and there – you see!" 

"What I have realized is that when we talk about unity, it
doesn’t mean to change somebody’s faith," states Deaconess
Agnes Simbo Lema, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Tanzania. "It means to sit together, to share, to love each other
and to accept each other." 

Maria Elena Romero Molina, a Missionary Dominican sister from
Guatemala, states it most simply, "Ecumenism is not a concept. It
is a way of life."

Sister Pina reflects, "The motto of the life and work
commission, back then, was doctrine divides, service unites."
Now, she states, "I could say doctrine divides, spirituality
unites."

>[640 words]

(*) Sara Speicher is a freelance writer and former coordinator
of the World Council of Churches Public Information Team.

>More on ecumenical spirituality:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3100

>Ecumenical Institute Bossey:
>http://bossey.ch

Photo gallery (high resolution versions available upon
request):
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/photo-galleries/sisters-sharing-spirituality.html

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.