What’s happening in the world during United World Week?

6 May 2019 | Non categorizzato

With the first of May, United World Week (UWW) took off.  Many activities already took place on every latitude to accomplish “No One in need,” the title given to this year’s UWW. Imagine looking down on Earth wearing special glasses, capable of highlighting the degree of fraternity experienced in the world among human beings. Certainly, from May 1st to 7th, we would notice an unusual peak, a great fermentation on every latitude of the planet. In fact, “No One in Need“, the 2019 United World Week has already begun and many teens, young people, adults, entire communities are in action, to bear witness that a united world is possible! Let’s start with South America. In Palmas, Brazil, on May 1st, a group of young people invited their friends and all those who wanted to participate, to live for unity and peace. How? By helping a family in economic difficulty with a donation of one kilogram of food. The food collection took place at Cesamar Park, animated by games and music. On the same day, in Loppiano (one of the many international little towns of the Focolare), in the province of Florence, 1400 teens, young people and families participated in the traditional May Day event, this year entitled “Good Vibes.” All were invited to initiate and become leaders of processes of change, overcoming individualism and loneliness with the culture of giving and overcoming prejudice and fear of “the different” with acceptance and fraternity. Proceeding eastward, again on May 1st, in Bandra, India, at Mount Mary Church, the Youth for a United World of that city invited the entire community to a moment of prayer for Sri-Lanka, victim of recent acts of violence, and to commit to peace. Also in India, but in Mumbai, from the 2nd to the 4th of May, a school called “#NoOneInNeed” was held, to discover one’s own needs and those of others, to take on a new life style based on the culture of giving. During the school, many topics were addressed: communication, relational needs, ecology, and peace.  There were also various workshops including one work session dedicated to IntotheLABel – the “responsible consumer” laboratory. Among the participants were young people from various parts of India, Nepal and Sri-Lanka. On the island of Cebu, Philippines, on the evening of May 1st, the Youth for a United World launched the #NoOneInNeed campaign at the Bukas Palad Cebu Foundation, Inc. The invitation published on social media was nothing short of original: “Start by bringing your excess valuables or things you no longer use, to share!” Many have already responded to their appeal, like Fred, a player of “Pokemon Go” and a friend of some Youth for a United World who are passionate about the same game. On the evening of May 1st, he brought with him 85 items of clothing that he had worn less than twice and which he no longer considers “his” but of those who need it most. n short, the United World Week consisting of big events and personal gestures, has come alive! And this weekend, it will continue with the race that aims to unite the world – Run4unity (Sunday, May 5th) – also animated by the slogan “No One In Need.”  Many cities have already or will be taking part in it. For the third consecutive year, teens, young people and adults will be running on both sides of the border between Mexico and the United States, right next to the wall, in the presence of the mayors of both cities (Mexicali and Calexico). Guests of the Branice Psychiatric Hospital in Poland will also participate in Run4Unity (R4U) for the third time. They wrote, “We are a psychiatric hospital with a century-old tradition. In our hospital we take care of over 500 people with mental illness. Last year around 300 took part in RUN4UNITY and we were the only representatives from Poland.” In New Caledonia and also in Christchurch, New Zealand, the city that suffered two terrorist attacks on two mosques last March, the race will involve young people of different religions. In Italy, R4U will take place in Pisa, Rome, Matera, Ischia, Turin, Foggia, Milan, Abbiategrasso and Perugia, organized by the Maria Montessori International High School together with the Amatori Nuoto cooperative, involving some associations for children with disabilities. Among the various activities, there will also be a hand ball game on wheelchairs, to create an integration experience through sport. To discover other events, just visit the site: Run4unity. Have a great United World Week! And remember to share your stories with the hashtag #NoOneInNeed.

Tamara Pastorelli

Source: United World Project  

Syria / 2: We want to turn the page and make a new start.

6 May 2019 | Non categorizzato

On Saturday May 4th the president and co-president of the Focolare met with the Syrian community of the movement. The sharing of their testimonies conveyed their pain and their sense of loss and mourning, but also their wealth of culture and traditions – and their desire to live and to rebuild their homeland. From the very beginning, Saturday 4 May promised to be very intense. Three hundred members of the Syrian Focolare community met at the monastery of St Ephrem the Syrian in Sednaya, about 40 kilometres north of Damascus. The day began with the story of the movement, told with the same words that Chiara Lubich used so many times – words that are known, almost by heart, by members of the Focolare communities around the world: “It was during the war and everything was collapsing…” But what made today’s telling of the story different is that after retelling each episode of Chiara’s life, one of the Syrians illustrated it with their own recent experience in this tormented land. There were those who, on returning to their city, could no longer find their houses, those who had lost their jobs, or their physical or mental health. There were those who felt they had seen their futures, or their faith in God or in relationships, stolen from them. Many have lost loved ones. Up to this moment there has been no compensation for many of these losses. “We are dead inside,” says one of them, encapsulating the mood of so many, perhaps of all who are present. Yet on the background of the stage, in Arabic, we read “And we have believed in love,” – the phrase that Chiara Lubich and her companions wanted to see written on their graves – ever since those early days when the movement was taking its first steps, in the middle of the Second World War. The final song that expressed the famous “Art of Loving,” which has been explained so many times by Chiara Lubich, underlined this belief in love. It’s the art of loving everyone, of being the first to love, of seeing Jesus in every neighbour, of loving our enemies. Those who were present stood up, began to dance and to express with all their senses a common desire, to turn the page and to make a new start. Right before our eyes we saw once again the two realities that distinguish this journey of the delegation of the International Centre of the Focolare to Syria: on the one hand the encounter with the peoples’ pain: the wounds, the traumas, the despair, the concern for the future, especially for their own children; and, on the other hand, the desire to continue to hope, to take up their lives again with freedom. Both realities are supported by a spirituality centred on a faith that can say: we believed in love. This life that unfolds between despair and hope, between death and resurrection, also resounded in the brief intervention given by the apostolic nuncio in Syria, Cardinal Mario Zennari and in the answers of Maria Voce and Jesús Morán. Cardinal Zennari invited those present to welcome the message from 800 years ago, that St. Francis heard addressed to him by the Crucifix – “repair the Church.” The Cardinal added,” But here, it is not just a question of repairing the Church, but of repairing your homeland. It is a question of building a new Syria.” Jesús Morán, co-president of the Focolare, presented to the Syrian community of the movement the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who in the greatest desperation “believed in the impossible” and that is, in the strength of the resurrection. But what should they do today in Syria: stay or leave? Maria Voce addressed this fundamental question asked by so many. She pointed out that beyond this choice, which is certainly not easy, there is the issue of living the present moment. She invited those present to seize the moment, to focus on whatever in the present moment seems to be “the will of God,” and then “to live it with authenticity and consistency – even if God occasionally allows us to continue living in mystery.” The day ended with a big celebration. Many different regions were represented and there were large numbers of children and young people present. This might have aroused some confusion in those who, perhaps, had come there thinking they would be meeting people of great poverty. Perhaps there is very little material well-being among them, but there is also a great wealth of life, of traditions, of customs, of dances, of songs, of expressions of joy and of the desire to live. How beautiful these people are, who, despite everything, believe in love!

Joachim Schwind