Dear members of Oikosnet Europe, dear friends!
As I write this editorial, I have just had my first appointment for the Covid19 vaccination. In Switzerland, it is now the turn of people over 65 (and sometimes age does have its advantages). I sincerely hope that we in Europe will soon succeed in allowing more freedoms, restoring proven fundamental rights and allowing cultural and social life again with manageable restrictions. I hope and am convinced that we will – finally – succeed in this in the coming months!
We shall see us in Sigtuna! In October. We will gather there for this year’s General Assembly. I am convinced of it. You will find more information in this newsletter and also how to register. Please do not hesitate. We shall see us in Sigtuna – and if it is still not possible then, we will inform again.
And before that, there are opportunities to meet us in different places and on important issues and debates. This newsletter also informs about such virtual opportunities and thus invites us not to lose sight of the bigger picture, what must occupy us in Europe and what we can only bear together in terms of responsibility in our time.
We will certainly see each other in Sigtuna. Until then, weeks and months will pass. In some places, hard work is called for, it is also necessary to fight against despair, impatience and existential fears. Perhaps there will still be a little time for other, very personal things, and hopefully always for a change of perspective, as the Swiss theologian and writer Jacqueline Keune has captured in a poem:
Cancelled
Haydn, Mozart and Schubert
conducted by Marek Janowski
Not canceled
the cello on the 3rd floor
the song of the blackbird
Cancelled
the reading of the literary man
Not canceled
the reading
of the evening poem
story for children
Cancelled
the meeting for the 40th anniversary
of the assassination of Bishop Oscar Romero
Not canceled
the memory
the resistance
Cancelled
the dream of the Maldives
Not canceled
the dreaming of
the new earth
the new heaven
Cancelled
the worship
Not canceled
the whispering
with God
Cancelled
the bouquet of flowers
on the kitchen table
Not canceled
the blossoming and bursting
the germination and budding
Canceled
the wedding
Not canceled
the love
Cancelled
abdication
Not canceled
Resurrection
Once again: Please, don’t forget: We shall see us in Sigtuna!
Best wishes,
Rev. Walter Lüssi, President of Oikosnet Europe
