USA: NextNow, dialogue between the Muslim and the Focolare communities
Photo: © Focolare Media
Operation Unity Washington D.C.
A Network of Families: Dialogue Creates Community
For more than thirteen years, we have been involved in real dialogue with a group of Turkish Muslim families living in our city, Ljubljana (Slovenia). It all started quite by chance. I worked as a dentist and one of the first Turkish families to arrive in Slovenia became my patients. From that first meeting, a deep bond grew, which over time extended to other families in the same community. After the failed coup in Turkey in 2016, many people were accused of belonging to a hostile movement and were forced to flee, finding refuge in our country. Since then, the number of families with which we started interacting grew rapidly, reaching around 50 people in just a few months.
We soon realized that it was not a simple cultural exchange but that this bond developed into a relationship of real mutual help: we helped them to learn our language, to handle administrative paperwork, to enrol their children in school and with all the support required for the needs of daily life. In short, a friendship that has gradually become a deep dialogue, including about values and spirituality.
Over time, we had the opportunity to introduce them to the Focolare Movement and its ideal of a united world. This led to discovering of many common points between the Focolare charism and their spirituality.
One of the most significant aspects of this journey was taking part in each other’s religious celebrations. We attended iftar dinners during Ramadan, while Muslim families showed interest in the Christian celebrations. For four consecutive years, we celebrated Christmas together. The Muslim families were initially surprised by the spiritual depth of this occasion as, influenced by Western media, they had seen it mainly as a consumer event.
Video in original language – Turn on subtitles and pick the language you want
From this desire to further deepen this dialogue, the Pop the Bubbles project was born in collaboration with the Association for Intercultural Dialogue and Social Academy, where I work. The aim was to overcome prejudices and barriers between communities, encouraging meeting between Turkish and Slovenian families. The project involved a group of families for a whole year, during which we worked together to identify common values between the two cultures. At the end of this journey, six fundamental values emerged: family, active citizenship, intercultural dialogue, democracy, freedom and inclusion. To conclude the project, we organized two residential camps, one of three days and one of five, in which 73 people participated. In addition to cultural exchange meetings, the project also led to concrete solidarity initiatives, such as helping Ukrainian refugees. This has shown that working together towards a common goal can strengthen the bonds between different communities. In addition, in recent years, I started working in an NGO (Social Academy) that cares for young people and some Turkish families asked me to help look after their teenage children as well, passing on to them those common values we had discovered together. This step was very significant, because it demonstrated the trust that had been built between our communities.
At the same time, an innovative project was born: the creation of an application to promote dialogue between people with opposite opinions – hardtopics.eu. The app works by connecting two people who have responded in a divergent way to a questionnaire on polarizing issues. The system pairs them and invites them to a discussion in a prepared environment, with the aim of overcoming social polarization and promoting a culture of dialogue. This app will soon be used in high schools and universities in Ljubljana. The enthusiasm shown by young people during the testing phase confirmed the value of this initiative.
I believe it is essential to create networks of interreligious dialogue at European level. The journey we have undertaken shows that with patience and dedication it is possible to build authentic relationships based on trust, respect and the shared values.
by Andreja Snoj Keršmanc
Ikuméni: in search of religious solidarity
Speaking from the stage of the Genfest 2024 in Aparecida, Edy, a Peruvian Catholic, accompanied by 13 other young people from various Christian Churches and Latin American countries, said, “Ikuméni has transformed the way we young people relate to each other, the way we look at each other and how we can have unity in diversity”.
But what is Ikuméni? It is a four-month training course in a leadership style based on the art of hospitality, cooperation and good practice. Edy continued, “A highlight was our final face-to-face meeting”. Pablo, a Salvadoran Lutheran, immediately intervened: “One thing that had a big impact on us was learning to generate cooperation initiatives together, which we call good ecumenical and interreligious practices, working alongside people from different Churches and religions, willing to serve in the challenges we face today in our cities and rural areas.”
Ikuméni offers young people various paths for implementing good practices: this is how initiatives for peacebuilding, conflict resolution, integral ecology and sustainable development, humanitarian issues and resilience have emerged, working together not only with people from different Churches, but also with civil society to care for one another.
“In my case, we started a peace-building initiative in the social sciences faculty of the university where I study,” shared Laura Camila, a Colombian who lives in Buenos Aires and is a member of a Pentecostal ecclesial community. She stressed, “We need to work together for peace, we really need it. So in collaboration with various Churches, initiatives were born to strengthen resilience by creating ecumenical and interreligious networks and workshops for dialogue and training in conflict resolution”.
The Ikuméni training itinerary is a scholarship program and therefore there is no cost for the participants who are selected to participate in the course. It requires a commitment of 4 hours per week and attendance in person at the regional Ikuméni meeting. Young people aged 18-35 years old who have completed secondary education are eligible to participate. It is organized by CREAS (Regional Ecumenical Advisory and Service Centre) with the collaboration of several organizations.
Enrolment is currently open for the 2025 program. All the information is available here: https://ikumeni.org/
Have a look at the video we filmed a few months ago in Buenos Aires during the team meeting.
Carlos Mana
Photo: © Ikuméni
Lebanon: “La Sorgente” Mariapolis Centre opens its doors to displaced people.
The “La Sorgente” Mariapolis Centre is located in Ain Aar, in a mountainous area, 20 kilometres north of Beirut. Just as it was in 2006, the year of the 34-day military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, people fleeing the bombs that are devastating the South of the country are arriving here, in this predominantly Christian and asking for hospitality. “It is normal to knock on the door of the Mariapolis Centre and find it wide open,” says R. of the Lebanese community of Focolare. “How could we not welcome them? What would have become of the ideal of brotherhood that we cherish and which should be our hallmark?”
A similar experience occurred in 2006. Then too, Lebanon experienced large-scale movements of families and the Focolare welcomed more than a hundred friends, entire extended families in its Mariapolis Centre. “We met in those conditions and became like brothers and sisters, sharing joys and sorrows, hopes and difficulties, needs and prayer. In a simple and sincere relationship, woven into everyday life, a true experience of brotherhood started and grew, without filters or prejudices”.
No one expected the situation to deteriorate so quickly. “The Lebanese were preparing to return to school, optimistic about this new year”, says R. “Yet an unexpected storm erupted, relentless, threatening and deadly”, with “terrible consequences for a population thirsting for peace, justice and paths of dialogue”. In a few days, or rather hours, military actions hit ordinary neighbourhoods and the people found themselves living “a real nightmare”. According to the Ministry of Public Health, as of 25th September, almost 600 people have been killed in Lebanon, including more than 50 children and 94 women, and about 1,700 others have been injured since 23rd September. Mass displacement continues, reaching around 201,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Since Sunday, the “La Sorgente” Mariapolis Centre has also been filled with guests “arrived with their fears, the trauma experienced in their targeted villages and neighbourhoods”. They drove 120 kilometres, taking between 5 to 8 hours. The roads are crowded with cars fleeing the South. They leave the villages before reaching the big cities of Tyre and Sidon. Around them, they see the destruction of the recent bombings. There are currently 128 guests at the Mariapolis Centre in Ain Aar. Some come from the South, others from the popular suburbs of Beirut hit by the latest attacks. It is not easy: “Their presence raises questions in the Christian community of the region”, say the focolarini. “One wonders: are there members of Hezbollah among them who could threaten peace in the region? But the sense of solidarity is stronger than suspicion. “R. adds: “Where could they seek shelter this time too? Where could they go and know that they would be welcomed without reservation?” For the community of the focolare, a new adventure begins. The welcome is coordinated with local, religious and civil authorities.
A “contest” of solidarity is taking place throughout the country. From the parish priest, to the faithful of the parish, to the volunteers. There are those who take care of the children by organising activities and football matches for them. Those who take care of the necessary help for the reception. “People arrive shocked, worried about their future, with the apocalyptic sight of destroyed houses, burned fields, but also news of acquaintances, relatives, neighbours, friends or students who were killed in the attacks and they will never see them again. Together we unite in living the present moment, with the faith that has allowed us to endure adversity for centuries”.
The “La Sorgente” Centre aims to be, along with many other places scattered throughout the country, true “oases of peace”. “The hope, the deepest wish is that we can soon return home. So much blood spilled must make the desert of hearts bloom. We hope that this ordeal we are experiencing will open a breach in the conscience of the powerful and of everyone, showing that war is a defeat for all, as Pope Francis repeats. But above all we believe and hope that from this crucible of pain a message of possible brotherhood for the entire Region can emerge from Lebanon “.
Maria Chiara Biagioni
Source: AgenSir
Photo: Focolare Lebanon