«For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.» (2 Timothy 1,7)
Dear members of Oikosnet Europe, dear friends!
First of all I look back gratefully on our Study day and Business Meeting. I am grateful that the General Assembly has confirmed me as President of Oikosnet Europe for another three years.
Then I say that we had to have our GA as a virtual meeting. That was a big limitation. I hope that another time we can meet again directly and discuss and meet each other in a lively way. This is indispensable, even though we have discovered new possibilities with zoom meetings to exchange ideas at short notice.
Covid19 triggers a whole range of feelings: sad, insecure, alone, lonely, confident, relieved, busy, sceptical, fatalistic, calm or over-anxious. However we react, there is one thing we have in common: we become aware of how fragile and precious life, living together, our society and the global economic system are.
Deep is the Hunger: Meditations for Apostles of Sensitiveness
In a newsletter from the Retreat and Study Center Kirkridge in Pensylvania, I found a quote from Howard Thurman. Howard Thurman, the Pastor of The Church for the Fellowship of all Peoples, was one of San Francisco’s most sought-after preachers at college chapels. His contribution to the large audiences he addressed each year across the country and to his own inter-racial congregation consisted not only of prophetic quality, but also of an ability to lead a group into an atmosphere of devotion.
«Everybody knows that something has happened. Just when it happened, no one knows. But there is complete agreement that somewhere, something very important has given away and all sorts of things are pulled out of shape, or are sagging or falling apart. The results? Nerves. There is a sense of fear as of some impending doom around the next turning in the road. …. Some say we are caught in the open independence of the sea, far away from any port, and a storm of world revolution is upon us. They point to breaking up of century-old social patterns all over the world …. This meant and continues to mean, that no one may claim detachment. The result is deep strains and stresses in the soul of a people, for which they had no preparation and from which there seems to be no sure basis for recovery.» («Deep is the Hunger: Meditations for Apostles of Sensitiveness», 1950).
Jean Richardson, the head of the Center Kirkridge, quoted this excerpt from Howard Thurman’s book in late June of this year in connection with “Black live matters” and the new sensitivity to the still serious racism. Everybody knows that something has happened. And the sense of fear as of some impending doom around the next turning in the road, the sense of fear also links people to Covid19 and the unknown that has gripped our world with this virus – and remembering our Study Day – also with the seemingly unstoppable climate change.
I guess we should soon talk about a ‘new fragility’ instead of a ‘new normal’ and decide in Oikosnet Europe on concrete action. The next few years will show this. But that also means that we have a lot of work to do. By “us” I mean first of all the Board of Oikosnet Europe. But it will only succeed in taking concrete and further steps if Oikosnet gains a new importance among its members. One depends on the other. But the need to bring our efforts at European level decisively closer together again is obvious.
With best wishes,
Rev. Walter Lüssi, President of Oikosnet Europe