Oikosnet Europe Blog

Stichting OIKOS: Knowledge Centre - Religion & Development

2012-01-25T10:36:00.000+01:00

Newsletter #12

We wish you all a good and healthy new year! In this newsletter you will find a.o. two invitations, one for a seminar on Islamic Development Finance, and one for a presentation on the (supposed) uniqueness of Faith-Based Development Cooperation.

Last year, the Knowledge Centre has made a new start with four new participants: Islamic Relief, Migrant Consortium, Edukans and Mensen met een Missie. The (members of) the Knowledge Centre organised several activities:

- a presentation of our Practitioners Guide Religion and Development
- a lecture on Ethics, Religion and International Cooperation, held by prof. dr. ir. Joris Voorhoeve
- a presentation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Religion and Diplomacy
- a launch of the Konya Criteria, or the Seven Advices of mevlana Djalâl-ud-Dîn Rumi
- a lecture on how Faith based development work may contribute to insecurity, as a research in India showed

At the same time, the team has been busy:
- preparing a clinic on Religious Reactions on the Economic Crisis
- preparing a clinic on complex relations between politics and religion in secular states
- promoting the practioners' guide among faith-based and secular development organisations

The coming months you will hear more from these activities.

Seminar, February 9: Islamic Development Finance

This seminar is about Islamic finance and financing techniques and their increasing contemporary relevance, particularly for development. It is held on the occasion of the retirement of Professor Gerrie ter Haar, holder of the Chair in Religion and Development, and the launch of her new book 'Religion and Development: Ways of Transforming the World'. The Chair in Religion and Development is an ISS professorship supported by ICCO and Cordaid.

Date: Thursday February 9, 13.30 – 18.00 at the Institute of Social Studies, Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX Den Haag.
Please register for this (free) seminar through http://conference.intra2.iss.nl/conferences/register/62

Presentation, January 31: How unique is faith-based development-cooperation?

Mensen met een Missie organises a presentation (in Dutch) of the findings of research done by Mrs. Femke Timmermans in Kenya, focused on the typical characteristics of faith-inspired development organisations. She interviewed staff-members and people from the network of five Kenyan partnerorganisations of Mensen met een Missie. The findings of her research are sometimes quite surprising.

Femkes presentation will take place on Tuesday 31 January, 12.30 - 13.30 at room 1.17, Lutherse Burgwal 10 in The Hague. Information and registration by: keesschilder@mensenmeteenmissie.nl.

Publication: An Uncomfortable Instrument: The Weak Vilification of Religion in Development Discourse

Ton Groeneweg (Mensen met een Missie, KCRD member) held a lecture on the conference 'Religions and their Despisers: Criticism and Vilification of Religions and Believers', organised on 4-5 November 2011 by the Dutch Society of Religious Studies. He converted his lecture into an article. In it, he writes:
"what I would like to do in this paper is to show that the discomfort surrounding the topic of religion in development is at least partly due to certain presumptions within the development discourse itself, and its instrumental way of dealing with religious agents and religious practices. A possible way out of this discomfort could be envisaged if the development discourse would be more conscious and self-critical with regard to these presumptions, which is not immediately the same as simply giving them up. I will do this by focusing on one particular example of religious revivalism, the so-called da'wa movement that emerged and prospered by the end of the 20 th century in urban Egypt."

New Documents in our Documentation Centre

The documentation centre forms an important part of our website, which is managed by the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. Relevant books and articles on the subject of Religion and Development are listed here. Below you will find a small selection of newly spotted publications, recently added to the documentation centre:

Carole Rakodi: A guide to analyzing the relationships between religion and development
University of Birmingham [etc.]: Comparing the development activities of faith-based organizations in Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Tanzania
Magid Kagimu: Inter-religious cooperation for HIV prevention in Uganda : a study among Muslim and Christian youth in Wakiso district
M. Mirghani: Islamic microcredit and poverty alleviation in the Muslim world : prospects and challenges

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New Job for Anne Veiteberg

2012-01-17T10:51:00.003+01:00

Our colleague Anne Veiteberg, General Secretary of the Norwegian Church Academies, will start a new job on August 1 as Publishing Director of the Norwegian Bible Society. Congratulations!

Mitri Raheb receives prestigious German media award

2012-01-13T20:45:00.001+01:00

Mitri Raheb, director of the Diyar Consortium in Bethlehem (member of Oikosnet Middle East, MEATRC) will receive the prestigious "Deutscher Medienpreis", together with three other "silent peace builders" on February 24 in Baden-Baden. The laudatio will be held by former German president Roman Herzog. Congratulations!
http://www.deutscher-medienpreis.de/
http://www.mitriraheb.org

Bethlehem & Aleppo

2011-12-23T18:44:00.001+01:00

Dear Friends in Oikosnet!

As Christmas Eve is approaching and this year of manychanges is drawing to a close, this is what is on my mind today:

Before e-mail newsletters became common andsubsequently all too often a flood of unsolicited information, we in OikosnetEurope used to present “The Centres of the Week” for almost ten years in a row,highlighting one European member organisation and one from the global Oikosnet.For all those centres that at the time did not have a website, we created abasic page. And in all these years, in the week before Christmas, we presentedthe International Centre of Bethlehem, making the commitment to continue doingso until a peaceful situation arrived. “The Centres of the Week” are no longerthere, and peace has not yet arrived in Bethlehem, so here we offer our prayersagain that the wall may come down there, too. And yet, the work of ourcolleagues from Bethlehem is a source of inspiration, hope and joy far beyondthe local community. Here we have a live example of resilience and hope in avery, very difficult situation. Our friend and their director, Mitri Raheb,just issued a Christmas message of thanks on YouTube from “The BrightStars of Bethlehem”.

Such resilience and persistent hope we also wish forour Oikosnet friends in another troubled city: Aleppo. In a corner of the website of our Oikosnet friends there, the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church, we find this picture saying “Pray for our country”

and we can only imagine the words and stories here,between the lines, the feeling of living in a big prison. We send them ourprayers of compassion and hope in this Christmas season, hoping that alreadythe next one will be more joyful!

“Advent is a verb”, our President, Jaap van der Sar,wrote in his Christmas message. Yes, let’s be agents of Advent in the comingyear!

With all good wishes for a blessed Christmas time!
Cordially yours

Wolfgang Lenz

56th OIKOSNET Europe Conference elected new President: Jaap van der Sar

2011-09-14T11:18:00.000+02:00

(Jaap van der Sar, Berit Nafstadt-Lyftingsmo, Sirpa Koriala)

From September 7 to 11, the 56th OIKOSNET Europe Annual Conference took place at the Home of Hope in Brasov/Kronstadt, Romania. Jaap van der Sar, Stichting Oikos in Utrecht/The Netherlands, was elected as President for the next two years. He succeeded Waltraut Kovacic, Evangelische Akademie Vienna, who retired this summer.
Developing strategic directions for the network of academies and laity centres was the main focus of the conference that designed a restructuring process leading up to the next conference in Trondheim/Norway (September 12 to 16, 2012).
In a pre-conference, the Women's Network of OIKOSNET Europe studied various projects in the Brasov/Kronstadt area that deal with domestic violence and other aspects of the social situation of women.

2011-09-04T11:35:00.003+02:00

New Director of Vienna Protestant Academy: Kirsten Beuth

2011-08-09T15:40:00.000+02:00

Since the first of August, Kirsten Beuth is the new Director of the Protestant Academy in Vienna/Austria, succeeding Waltraut Kovacic who retired. Kirsten is well-known in our circles as Director of the Women's Study Centre of the EKD in Hofgeismar (formerly in Gelnhausen, FSBZ, a member centre of OIKOSNET Europe as well). She spent the last year as a sabbatical year working at the Vienna academy, so she is well acquainted with the people and the work there, too. Good conditions for a successful start. Congratulations and all good wishes, Kirsten!

Citizenship and Politics in a Latin America in movement, theme of gathering of the Ecumenical Network of Lay Centers-OIKOSNET

2011-06-10T18:26:00.000+02:00

ARAB-EUROPEAN DIALOGUE AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE

2011-05-31T10:34:00.000+02:00

PRESS RELEASE:

From 12 to 15 April, 2011, the international conference with the title “Transformation processes in Arab and European Countries - Formation of Identities in Conflict” took place at the Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC). This conference is part of a wider program under the title “Arab-European Dialogue”, which is carried out at the OAC in co-operation with internationally renowned foundations and organizations such as the Association of the Evangelical Academies in Germany and the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) in Egypt.

This program aims at examining the manifold political, social, economical and religious dimensions of the relations of the European states with the Arab countries as well as at contributing to their rapprochement, the overcoming of the mutual prejudices and the building of a healthy cooperation. In order to do so, people who shape the public opinion, especially from Arab countries, are invited. This program focuses on issues of crisis management, on the influence of the media in this respect, but also on the role of education, official as well as unofficial and on the prospect of reconciliation. The ulterior goal of this program is the realization of meetings of outstanding young leaders from target-groups (young politicians, journalists, presidents of students’ movements, lawyers, theologians, etc.), so that there can be influence and expansion of the results of that dialogue to the people shaping the public opinion in the near future.

At the conference at the OAC, representatives of religious groups, of the academic and political world, but also diplomats from European and Arab countries took part. The Greek Minister for External Affairs was represented by the Director of the E2 directorate for Religious and Ecclesiastical Matters, his Excellency the ambassador Mr Evangelos Damianakis, who contributed to a very high extent to the holding of the conference with his inspired opening address. Among others, the general director of the European network of Academies, OIKOSNET, Mr Wolfgang Lenz, the general secretary of the Association of the Evangelical Academies in Germany, Dr. Klaus Holz, as well as the director of CEOSS, Dr. Andrea Zaki, took part at the meeting. From the Orthodox Academy of Crete, the general director, Dr. Konstantinos Kenanidis, took part, who in his welcoming address first of all thanked especially the participants from the Arab countries, who stated the importance of the meeting with their presence, defying at the same time the great difficulties they are facing in their countries. Then, he underlined the long lasting links of Orthodoxy with the Arab world, the special role of Crete as a bridge of civilizations, but also the fact that the topic of the meeting was so up-to-date regarding the events that have been shaking the Arab countries for months now.

In the course of the conference that lasted for four days, the process of transformation of traditional societies and religious identities was examined in the frame of globalization and laicization. The goal was to gain an understanding of the different ways in which identities are formed and how these identities are tied to processes of social transformation as well as to causes of conflicts and their solution. With the examination of special cases from European and Arab countries as a starting point, the different perceptions concerning society, state and religion, which are expressed in Europe and the Arab world, were investigated. The conference looked for and appreciated suggestions regarding a mutual approach in the prospect of a common future, based on the values of mutual respect and understanding.

ARAB-EUROPEAN DIALOGUE AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE

2011-05-31T10:33:00.000+02:00

PRESS RELEASE:

ARAB-EUROPEAN DIALOGUE AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE

2011-05-31T10:30:00.002+02:00

PRESS RELEASE:

ARAB-EUROPEAN DIALOGUE AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE

2011-05-31T10:30:00.000+02:00

PRESS RELEASE:

ARAB-EUROPEAN DIALOGUE AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE

2011-05-31T10:26:00.002+02:00

PRESS RELEASE:

New Programme of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies of the academic year 2010-2011

2011-04-01T10:53:00.000+02:00

From March 2011 to December 2011 the Volos Academy will organize two International Conferences and various parallel events. The first International Conference on “Living the Christian Faith in Palestine and the Middle East. Theological and Political Challenges in Orthodox and Ecumenical Perspective” will take place in June, 20-22 in Volos, and is organized in collaboration with the WCC Program on “Churches in the Middle East: Solidarity and Witness for Peace”. The second International Conference on “Economic Crisis, Poverty and Social Justice: the Word of Theology and the Church” will take place in Volos in November 2011 and be organized by the Volos Academy and the H.M. of Demetrias.
In parallel the Volos Academy will also host a series of events, conferences, seminars and book presentations on topics such as: “Orthodoxy and Political Theology” (Athens); “Theological Portraits: P.N. Trembelas: Between Tradition and Renewal, Between Academia and Mission”(Athens); “Being Human, Becoming Divine: Elisabeth Behr-Sigel’s Contributions to the Church”(Strasburg); “Theology and History. Reflections upon Contemporary Anthropological Challenges” (Volos); “Teaching Ecumenical Theology in the Orthodox World”(Volos); “Experiential Learning as a Tool in the Courses on Religion: Using Techniques of Drama Education”(Volos, Veroia, Kozani); “And on Earth Peace…A Vision and A Demand for Societies and Churches Today: An Orthodox Contribution”(Thessaloniki); “Theology in Dialogue: the Work and Publications of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies” (Kozani); a workshop on Bioethics (Sofia, Bulgaria), etc.
You can visit our website: www.acadimia.gr or contact our secretariat by e-mail: info@acadimia.gr and by phone: +30 24210 93553/51 & 93573 for further information.

Update: Sven-Bernhard Fast elected Bishop of Visby

2010-12-22T20:59:00.001+01:00

Today, former OIKOSNET Europe president Sven-Bernhard Fast was elected Bishop of Visby, getting 99 out of 158 votes. Congratulations!

Oikosnet Europe Board met in Vienna/Austria

2010-12-09T14:09:00.000+01:00

The new Board of Oikosnet Europe gathered for its first meeting from December 3 to 6 in Vienna. Chaired by Waltraut Kovacic (Director of the Protestant Academy Vienna) its agenda focused on a strategic three year plan for 2011 to 2013, as well as planning for the Annual Conference 2011, which will take place from September 7 to 11 at the Home of Hope in Brasov/Kronstadt, Romania.
During its meeting, the board also met with Bishop Michael Bünker, General Secretary of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE).

(From left: Constantinos Kenanidis, Walter Lüssi, Waltraut Kovacic, Katalin Zoltani, Wolfgang Lenz)

Another ex-president of Oikosnet Europe bishop candidate: Sven-Bernhard Fast

2010-12-08T11:19:00.003+01:00

Sven-Bernhard Fast, former director of Stiftsgarden Rättvik and ex-president of Oikosnet Europe, is one of two remaining candidates for the bishop's see in Visby/Sweden, which besides the island of Gotland also includes the Swedish Church Overseas. Election will be on December 22nd.
Recently, former Oikosnet Europe president Irja Askola was elected bishop of Helsinki, the first female bishop in the Finnish Lutheran Church.

Die Evangelischen Akademien in Deutschland jetzt auch auf evangelisch.de: www.evangelisch.de/kompass/akademien

2010-11-18T10:00:00.000+01:00

German Protestant Academies now also on evangelisch.de, click here!

Italian church newspaper "Riforma" article on Annual Conference 2010

2010-09-30T14:22:00.001+02:00

http://www.riforma.it/innerpage.php?id=Ecumene/article20100928090642

Dialogue for Peaceful Change project received award in the US

2010-09-24T11:02:00.002+02:00

55th Annual Conference welcomed Bishop Irja Askola - Waltraut Kovacic new President

2010-09-14T12:57:00.000+02:00

Irja Askola, Waltraut Kovacic, Wolfgang Lenz

The 55th Annual Conference of Oikosnet Europe at Seurakuntaopisto in Järvenpää/Finland ended on Sunday. Participants from 14 European countries discussed how to deal with different forms of violence in European societies and studied Finnish approaches of work with the Roma minority. On Thursday night, the conference welcomed Bishop Irja Askola and Father Heikki Huttunen for a discussion about ecumenism in the 2010s. The conference ended with drawing up the outlines of a strategic plan for the coming three years, which the board will work out and the next conference in September 2011 in Brasov/Romania will decide upon. Waltraut Kovacic (Evangelische Akademie Wien, Austria) was elected as president, Constantinos Kenanidis (Orthodox Academy of Crete, Greece) as vice president, and Walter Lüssi (Evangelisches Tagungs- und Studienzentrum Boldern, Switzerland) as Treasurer.

Oikosnet global YouTube channel coming soon ..

2010-07-30T11:05:00.000+02:00

The global Oikosnet will launch its YouTube channel soon. Take a sneak preview here!

Check out the new website of Le Liebfrauenberg!

2010-06-16T09:36:00.000+02:00

http://www.liebfrauenberg.com/

Former Oikosnet Europe president Irja Askola elected Bishop of Helsinki, first female bishop in Finland. Congratulations!

2010-06-03T18:29:00.002+02:00

Volos Academy Conference: Can orthodox theology be contextual? Live on TV now

2010-06-03T18:27:00.001+02:00

Dear friends of Volos Academy for Theological Studies we inform you that the international conference on "Neo-patristic synthesis or Post-patristic theology: Can orthodox theology be contextual?", (3-6, June, Volos) will be live covered by the web television-channel:

http://intv.gr/site/index.php/live/261-theologiko-synedrio-2010?play=1

with simultaneous translation (English-Greek).

OEKT-Munich: "Women Crossing Boarders"

2010-05-25T15:02:00.000+02:00

Theological Summer School in Dunblane/Scotland

2010-05-09T12:12:00.002+02:00

Theological Summer School in Dunblane&Scotland -

Women Crossing Borders - Grenzgängerinnen Frauen verändern die Kirchen Europas Women’s Network of OIKOSNET EUROPE at the Ecumenical Kirchentag in Munich

2010-03-23T09:58:00.003+01:00

Friday 14:00 – 15:30 - ICM, Saal 5, Messegelände / Language: English

Women of the Past - Multimedia presentation

Women of the Present - Panel discussion

Throughout the centuries there have been courageous and dedicated women who crossed borders- mental and geografical ones and by doing so, changed their churches.
There will be a presentation of 5 historic women and interviews with 4 living, outstanding personalities, namely:

Anna Karin Hammar, Theologin, Uppsala/Schweden
Prof. Dr. Dr. Theresia Heimerl, Theologin, Graz/Österreich
Sr. Yosé Höhne-Sparborth, Friedensaktivistin für Frauen ohne Papiere, Utrecht/Niederlande
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Theologin, Cambridge, MA/USA
Marina Shishova, russ.-orth. Theologin, St. Peters-burg/Russland

Moderation: Martina Heinrichs, Huissen/Niederlande

Anwältinnen des Publikums:

Waltraut Kovacic, Wien/Österreich

Anne Veiteberg, Oslo/Norwegen

Musik:

Dr. Peter Bukowski, Wuppertal

Colourful Grace, Wuppertal

Auszeichnung für Nachhaltigkeitsprojekt der Ev. Akademien

2010-03-16T10:47:00.001+01:00

Nachhaltigkeitsprojekt der Evangelischen Akademien wird als offizielles UN-Dekadeprojekt ausgezeichnet

Das Netzwerkprojekt der Evangelischen Akademien „Zukunftsfähigkeit Deutschlands in einer globalisierten Welt“ wird am 17. März 2010 auf der Bildungsmesse didacta in Köln als offizielles UN-Dekadeprojekt ausgezeichnet. Das Projekt ist eine Kooperation mit dem Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst (eed) und „Brot für die Welt“. Vergeben wird die Auszeichnung vom Nationalkomitee der UN-Dekade „Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung“.

„Die Dekade-Projekte leisten vorbildliche Arbeit. Sie vermitteln Wissen und Kompetenzen für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung unserer Gesellschaft, tragen die Idee ‚Nachhaltigkeit lernen’ in die Breite“, so Gerhard de Haan, Vorsitzender des Nationalkomitees zur Umsetzung der UN-Dekade in Deutschland. Die UN-Dekade ‚Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung’ ist eine internationale Bildungsinitiative. Die Staaten der Vereinten Nationen haben sich verpflichtet, in den Jahren 2005 bis 2014 das Konzept ‚Nachhaltigkeit lernen’ zu stärken. Nachhaltigkeit – so wurde nicht zuletzt bei den großen Weltkonferenzen in Rio de Janeiro und Johannesburg deutlich – lässt sich nur dezentral realisieren.

In diesem Sinne führen die Akademien in diesem Jahr sieben weitere Tagungen durch, nachdem 2009 bereits neun Veranstaltungen stattgefunden haben. „Wir freuen uns, dass die Evangelischen Akademien in Ihrer Tagungsreihe die Themen und Diskurse der von BUND, EED und „Brot für die Welt“ herausgegebenen Studie „Zukunftsfähiges Deutschland in einer globalisierten Welt“ so erfolgreich aufgreifen, sagt Rudolf Ficker, Vorstand des EED. Insgesamt sind zehn Evangelische Akademien am Projekt beteiligt. Die Tagungen werden sich u.a. mit Fragen der Menschenrechte und internationalen Gerechtigkeit, den Möglichkeiten eines nachhaltigen Wachstums und Finanzmarktes, mit sozialer Gerechtigkeit und Grundsicherung, mit schöpfungstheologischen und –ethischen Fragen beschäftigen.

Allen Tagungen gemeinsam sind der interdisziplinäre Zugang und die Einbeziehung der Perspektive der Länder des Südens. Das Projekt schafft Diskurszusammenhänge und schlägt Brücken zwischen den verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Akteuren und Entscheidungsträgern in Politik, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Verwaltung und Medien.

Weitere Informationen unter: www.evangelische-akademien.de/zd2

Kontakt

In Zusammenarbeit mit EED und Brot für die Welt

Dr. Wolfgang Beer

Tel.: +49 (0)30 283 95 - 442

beer@evangelische-akademien.de

www.evangelische-akademien.de

Hans Jörg Schütz

Bereichsleiter für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Projektmanagement

Evangelische Akademien in Deutschland (EAD) e. V.

Auguststraße 80

10117 Berlin

Tel. +49 (0)30 283 95-445

Fax +49 (0)30 283 95-470

schuetz@evangelische-akademien.de

www.evangelische-akademien.de

2010-01-24T05:32:00.002+01:00

The Oikosnet Europe board meeting at Seurakuntaopisto in Järvenpää/Finland where the 55th Oikosnet Europe Annual Conference is going to take place from September 8 to 12, 2010. Warm hospitality by our Finnish colleagues and Nordic winter at its best (minus 26 Celsius, no wind and sunny!). More pictures (taken by Kostas Kenanidis) here!

2009-12-22T16:30:00.002+01:00

Dear Friends of Oikosnet Europe & Colleagues!

We live in a world which is changing extremely fast. Therefore today we have to realize more than ever the essential importance of the community. The whole can not function correctly without the proper function of the component parts and the body is falling apart if its members want to live their own life.
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:4-5 - New International Version).
In this time of moral and economical crises the importance of our network and our community is immense…
There was a famous Jewish theologian, Martin Buber, who was once asked, “Where is God?” His answer was not, “God is everywhere,” or “God is found in churches and synagogues.” Rather, Buber answered that God is found in relationships.
God is not found in people; God is found between people. When you and I are truly attuned to each other, God comes down and fills the space between us so that we are connected, not separated (Harold Kushner, Living A Life That Matters).
Christmas is the wonderful – if I may say – the magic moment of this arrival of God to us. Christ is the one who is bounding us together.
In the hope that He is going to fill the space also between us, the Board of our Association is going to meet at the end of January, in order to work out the best strategy for our community. Please, pray for this meeting and if you feel that you have good ideas and solutions for our Association, do not hesitate to share them with us.
At last but not at least I wish for all of you Marry Christmas and a blessed, peaceful and successful year for 2010.

László Kállay
President of Oikosnet Europe

Retreats in Space and Time: A Nine-Day Program on Desert Spirituality, Monasticism, Liturgy and Cultural Heritage in the Holy Land 13 – 21 March 2010

2009-12-08T13:32:00.009+01:00

The Evangelische Akademie der Pfalz and Sigtunastiftelsen invite you to join!
Participants of all faith traditions – and none – are welcome to join this experiential study program, exploring the spiritual and cultural traditions of the Judean and Negev Deserts, with focus on the history and current reality of the monastic life and liturgies of living Christian communities – of both East and West – in the Holy Land.

You are welcome also to walk together with us on the “Abraham Path”. This is a people-to-people initiative promoting an understanding of past cultural diversity as a positive model for contemporary societies, in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Lecturers:
Daniel Rossing, Director of the Jerusalem
Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations.
Henry Raphael Carse, leader of experiential study programs in
Desert Spirituality, Contemporary Pilgrimage and Interfaith
Dialogue.
Avner Goren, archaeologist and Director of the Abraham Path
in Israel.
A Nine-Day Program* on Desert
Spirituality, Monasticism, Liturgy and
Cultural Heritage in the Holy Land
13 – 21 March 2010

Programme folder

INFORMATION

Box 57, 193 22 Sigtuna
08 – 592 589 00
www.sigtunastiftelsen.se

For more information about costs etc. and application , please contact one of the course facilitators and co-organizers below, before 13 January 2010:

Tina Haettner Blomquist
Sigtunastiftelsen
tina.haettner.blomquist@sigtunastiftelsen.se

Georg Wenz
Evangelische Akademie der Pfalz
georg.wenz@eapfalz.de

Global CLLT 2009 ended successfully

2009-11-22T05:01:00.000+01:00

The 17th global Oikosnet Course for Leadership in Lay Training (CLLT) ended on Friday, November 20th. Participants from Africa, Latin and North America, Asia, and the Middle East got certified as Dialogue for Peacful Change facilitators. Some pictures are here

Orthodox Academy of Crete: International Conference "conSERVATION and sustainable use of wild plant DIVERSITY"

2009-10-30T10:01:00.001+01:00

“conSERVATION and sustainable use of wild plant DIVERSITY”

May 5-8, 2010
Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC)

Kolympari, Chania, Greece

“We have to preserve wild plant diversity to sustain and improve life support system on Earth”

Conference goals

At the beginning of the 21st century, habitat alteration, unsustainable harvests, overgrazing, the climate change, the introduction of non-native plants, political indifference and public unawareness are just some of the leading causes of declining wild plant diversity and populations worldwide. It is widely accepted that the Earth is entering a severe ecological crisis and the life support system on our planet is in danger. This international conference on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wild Plant Diversity (CSUWPD) aims at bringing together environmental stake holders, scientists, theologians, scholars, politicians, sociologists, farmers, specialists and amateurs to exchange information and insights to promote actions for supporting botanical activities and for building knowledge about plant conservation and their sustainable use. "CSUWPD" conference addresses the need for a human response to plant diversity loss and unsustainable utilization. It affirms human responsibility for the well being of the Earth and the vast communities of Life. The goal of the conference is to create a multi-disciplinary and international forum for information and knowledge exchange among all friends of plants who are conscious of their responsibility toward a more sustainable future for wild plant diversity and population.

events and scientific programme

The main social event associated with the conference is the inauguration festivities of the new botanic garden of the Museum of Cretan Flora – OAC as well as the international photo competition on the “Beauty of wild plants and fungies in Europe”. Visits to the fabulous gorge of Samaria will be scheduled in addition to the excursion to the splendid sea-side protected area of Elafonisi (NATURA 2000 - GR2540002) in the South-West of Crete. The scientific programme will consist of keynote lectures, selected oral and poster presentations as well as arts exhibitions.

Important dates:

Abstract Submission Deadline: December 30, 2009

Author Notification: February 4, 2010

Final Manuscript Due: April 2, 2010

Further information:

Please check our website: www.oac.gr

Contact person: Dr. Lucas Andrianos

Address; Orthodox Academy of Crete, Museum of Cretan Flora, Kolympari, Chania 73006 Greece

Tel. +30-2824022500; Fax: +30-2824022060

E-mail: oac@otenet.gr or laoac@otenet.gr

Δρ. Λουκάς ΑΝΔΡΙΑΝΟΣ (Lucas A. Andrianos)
Επιστημονικός Συνεργάτης ΙΤΕ-ΟΑΚ (Scientific Collaborator FORTH-OAC)
ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΑΚΑΔΗΜΙΑ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ (Orthodox Academy of Crete)
730 06 ΚΟΛΥΜΠΑΡΙ ΧΑΝΙΩΝ (Kolympari, Chania)
Τηλ (TEL): 28240 22245
Φαξ (FAX): 28240 22060
E-mail: LAoac@otenet.gr
www.oac.gr

Oikosnet Europe Annual Conference starts in Greece

2009-09-06T10:22:00.005+02:00

The 54th Annual Conference of Oikosnet Europe is about to start on Wednesday, September 9th at the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece in Pendéli near Athens. The main theme is "Twenty years after 1989 - Riots in the Streets?".
Before the main conference, the Women's Network of Oikosnet Europe meets in Pendéli to pland its work for the coming year.

New Director of Pendéli Centre

2009-09-04T09:59:00.000+02:00

Meet the new director of the Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece in Pendéli, near Athens: Prof. Dr. Marios Begzos.
Prof. Begzos was born 27.11.1951 in Athens, where he accomplished his elementary education (1963-1969). He studied theology and philosophy at the Universities of Athens (1969-1973), Geneva (1973-1974), and Tübingen (1979-1981). He obtained a PhD. in Athens (1985) under the supervision of the late Professor Nikos Nissiotis (1924-1986) on the relation between orthodox theology and contemporary philosophy of nature according to Werner Heisenberg. He became lecturer (1986), assistant professor (1991), associate professor (1999), and full professor (2003) of Comparative Philosophy of Religion in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Athens, teaching also as a research felllow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (1991-1997) Philosophy of Religion in the Department of Protestant Theology at the University MArburg and der Lahn (Germany). He published 19 books and 300 articles in the last 20 yeears in Greek, German, English, and French, some of his articles are translated in Hungarian, Chinese, Italian, and he uses English, german, and French. He is a lay theologian of theGreek Orthodox Church, married (1979) with one son (1983).

Professor Dr. Marios Begzos
University Campus, Faculty of Theology, GR-15702 Athens-Ilissia
Tel./Fax 0030 210 7275740, -7275748 * E-mail: mbegzos@theol.uoa.gr

Oikosnet centre director elected as new head of UCC Canada

2009-08-27T12:45:00.001+02:00

Mardi Tindal, director of Five Oaks (Ontario/CA) was elected head of UCC Canada. Congratulations!
More here

Interorthodox Centre in Pendéli barely esacped the wood fires

2009-08-27T10:54:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I returned from a "blitz" visit to Pendéli, one of the Athens suburbs that was hit by the wood fires.The good news is that the fire stopped literally just a few away from the centre's buildings, the bad news is that some of the grounds with trees planted after the last fire, burned again. You can see some pictures from my visit here.
As you can see from the pictures, I still walked through areas next to the centre with smoldering spots on Tuesday, and still firemen or soldiers - who looked terribly tired and exhausted - were on guard, helicopters circling above the area.
A miracle, said Bishop Ioannis.
With Prof. Marios Begzos and Bishop Ioannis I planned details for the conference, which basically can go ahead as planned. Within the next few days you will see a revised programme and some additional information regarding travel, etc.
Cordially
Wolfgang

International Theological Conference at Bad Boll academy "Tools for Renewal"

2009-06-16T12:36:00.002+02:00

Tools for Renewal - July 30th to August 2nd, 2009
Is the American feminist Audre Lorde right when she
says in her essay “Sister outsider” from 1984: „the
master’s tools cannot dismantle the master’s house” –
meaning that patriarchal traditions cannot be renewed
from within?
Or are there in our religious traditions self-critical
impulses, “counter-traditions”, which can be used as
tools for renewal on the way to gender justice?
In this conference we will explore the potential for selfrenewal
within Judaism, Christianity and Islam with the
help of scholars from the different traditions.
Which theological resources in the three religions can
feminist-theological and gender-oriented concepts connect
to? How can we claim authority for these concepts?
Which differences and similarities can we find between
our traditions in this process of renewal? What can we
learn from each other?
How can we use these potentials in a common way and
which kind of visions of our future in multi-religious
European societies can we deduce from them?
The conference is at the same time as the annual conference
of IKETH (www.iketh.eu). It enables European theologians
and pedagogues working in churches and religious
communities, educational and social institutions as
well as in associations to meet each other in theological
discourse and collegial exchange, to share spiritual
experiences and have informal contacts.
If you are interested in this kind of interfaith and intercultural
dialogue your are welcome to the conference in
Bad Boll!
Susanne Wolf Dr. Helene Egnell
Christel Hildebrand Marleen Wijdeveld

For any queries please contact:
Evangelische Akademie
Bad Boll
Susanne Wolf
Secretary: Monika Doludda
Phone: +49 7164 79-243
Fax: +49 7164 79-5243
Email: monika.doludda
@ev-akademie-boll.de

Stichting Oikos/NL: Impact of SROI-Study

2009-06-12T10:07:00.002+02:00

Social09MA028

Social Return On Investment of Migrant Churches in the Hague

The effects of the report

Introduction

In early 2006 Stichting Oikos produced the report "Gratis en Waardevol" (Free and Valuable). The subject was the Social Return On Investment (SROI) of all migrant churches in The Hague. It was calculated that these 110 churches together saved money for the rest of society in that year an amount of € 17.5 million. The calculation method was developed during similar research activities in the year 2004, where the Protestant Parish of the city of Utrecht was the subject.

The method made the presence and the activities of the migrant churches visible. At Oikos we thought it would be good to get some feed back about the effects of the report after some years. So we asked the director of one of the organisations, which asked us to do the research, to reflect on these effects. In the following part of this small paper we translate her reaction.

Effects

The Hague, 29 May 2009

"Dear Jaap

Regarding your request to get an overview of the effects of the report "Gratis en Waardevol", I met with Albert Abraham and Willem Jansen.

A general impression is that many people at first sight were impressed about the volume of the work. So much …..!

Furthermore we think that the report has had its effects, especially with the municipality and different organisations in society.

Regarding the municipality of The Hague we base our impression on the encounters with civil servants and a number of realised political effects.

In meetings with civil servants a more systematic distinction is made between the social activities of migrant churches and the pastoral and liturgical activities. This has, for example, resulted in the fact that for this type of activities subsidies can be found more easily, for instance through the Citizen Fund, where they rejected, in earlier days, our applications with the argument of the separation between state and church.

For quite some time the lack of meeting places for migrant churches is on the political agenda. The report has led to the fact that the number of migrant churches in The Hague is visible now. The calculation of the SROI has made it legitimate that the municipality of The Hague is now active in facilitating these churches, for instance regarding their efforts to get a building found or realised for many different churches. The same effect is visible with housing corporations, which told without being asked, that they got aware through the report about the importance for society of the migrant churches.

The report has been asked for in the last couple of years by representatives of other cities and other organisations, for instance by other municipalities like Den Bosch and Utrecht, by many journalists, by the Christian Democratic Party for one of their events.

According to myself, it is a special effect that the report has had internal effects for the migrant churches as well. Through the report they got more insight in the possibilities for diaconal work and they developed, inspired by the report, new activities. Examples: providing meals or actively visiting elderly people. The last happened in a church, which normally uses the church-facilities of the elderly-home and now they came to the idea to do something for the residents of that home. The visits resulted in performance of the choir of the migrants for the elderly people. This was such a success that it happens now every month; Christmas is organised in cooperation now. Migrant churches have now a better understanding of the importance to make a difference between the social and the inner-church activities; sometimes they start new foundations for this.

I hope this will serve you.

With best wishes

Nienke van Dijk

director of STEK (Voor Stad En Kerk - the diaconal institute of churches in The Hague)

Translated from the original by Jaap van der Sar

Utrecht, 11 June 2009

Protestantismustagung in Wittenberg

2009-05-27T12:55:00.001+02:00

Herrschen-Folgen-Widerstehen

Das schwierige Verhältnis des Protestantismus mit der Macht – eine Einladung

Tagung an der Evangelischen Akademie in Lutherstadt Wittenberg

19. bis 21. Juni 2009

Von Anfang an rang der Protestantismus mit der Macht. Der Staat war für die Wittenberger Reformatoren ein »notwendiges Gegenmittel gegen die verdorbene Natur.« Göttlich legitimierte »Zwangsgewalt gegen die Sünde« – so verstandener politischer Macht sind Protestanten über Jahrhunderte gefolgt. Sie sind dafür auf dem Schlachtfeld gefallen und haben weltliche Herrscher aufs Schild gehoben.
Doch schon bei Luther gab es auch andere Akzente: »Gott hat die Menschen geschaffen, dass man sich freundlich und friedlich … zusammen halten soll.« Lutheraner und Reformierte, die sich so als friedensfähige und freie Geschöpfe Gottes sahen, haben politischer Willkür immer wieder auch im Namen ihres Glaubens widerstanden.
Spannungsvoll war und ist das Verhältnis von Protestanten zur Macht. In Deutschland jubelten sie einst dem Kaiser als Vater einer protestantischen Nation zu.Viele folgten später einem Führer in den totalen Krieg. Andere mahnten an, Gott mehr zu gehorchen als den Menschen, und widersetzten sich. Zum Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts war der Zusammenbruch des Realsozialismus auch eine protestantische Frucht. Heute steht der Protestantismus vor der Aufgabe, in den Machtverhältnissen von Mediendemokratie und globalisierter Marktgesellschaft Eigenes zu formulieren und zur Geltung zu bringen.

„Herrschen, folgen, widerstehen“ bietet als 1. Wittenberger Protestantismustagung mehr als nur drei eindeutige Blickwinkel für den Umgang des Protestantismus mit der Macht. Historiker, Politiker, Theologen, Juristen und Journalisten sind eingeladen, um mit uns klärend den Blick auf die eigene Geschichte zu lenken aber auch Standortbestimmung und Ausblick zu formulieren. Welche Perspektiven hat der Protestantismus für die Weltgestaltung einzubringen – 75 Jahre nach der Barmer Theologischen Erklärung und 20 Jahre nach der friedlichen Revolution in Ostdeutschland?

Das vollständige Programm finden Sie unter:

http://www.ev-akademie-wittenberg.de/downloads/programm2009-28-09.pdf

Herzliche Einladung!

Stichting Oikos: Dutch mosques save society millions of Euros

2009-05-27T12:50:00.002+02:00

The 475 mosques in the Netherlands save the rest of Dutch society on a yearly basis an amount of at least € 150 million Euro. That is one of the conclusions of a research about the 'social return on investment' (SROI) of this particular group of religious organisations in the Netherlands.

The report Valuing mosques was commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to get a better idea of what actually goes on in mosques. Therefore researchers of Oikos (an ecumenical organisation that promotes social justice and sustainable development worldwide) visited 16 Dutch mosques and interviewed imams, volunteers, governing bodies about the activities organised in their communities. To calculate the social return on investment, they listed all activities in the mosques and calculated the exchange-value in Euros of this work. This was in total within these 16 mosques 270,000 hours. According to the tariffs of Home Care Services in the Netherlands - which is considered to be well comparable with the work, done in religious communities - the exchange-value of this work was about € 10.1 million of Euros. Not all this type of work is calculated as work, which replaces normal activities of organisations in the general care system. Only in case a real equivalent of work could be distinguished outside - in this case - the mosques, the work was calculated positively to get the social return on investment. It turned out that about 51% of the work of these mosques replaces other work of social service-institutes. The value is about € 5.2 million which is the outcome for these SROI-calculation. To get this done, the mosques received financial support from municipalities, for instance for people in subsidised jobs, up to an amount of € 200,000.

When this outcome is recalculated for all mosques in the Netherlands, it reaches to at least € 150 million as the minimum calculation for savings for Dutch society as a whole.

The research also made visible what type of work is done in mosques. The outcome supported earlier investigations regarding this subject. Examples show a wide range of activities, including festivals, courses on Dutch language and on the political system, childcare classes, skating excursions, swimming lessons for women, career guidance for young people, visits to elderly. and collections for local food banks.

The whole list of activities shows a wide variety. It makes clear that mosques acts as a 'hub' for activities and social networks, which enables interaction with and integration in the rest of society. For some members, the mosques are the first entry-point towards further integration in society. It is relevant for, among others, policy makers to have more insight in these processes. This is what mosques have in common with for instance migrant churches in The Hague. For these churches the SROI was calculated in 2006.

The project was realised on behalf of the Knowledge-unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Contact commission Muslims and Government (CMO) has supported the research.

Researchers were:

Ir. Jaap van der Sar

Drs. Roos Lombo - Visser

Dr. Welmoet Boender

Stichting Oikos

P.O. Box 19170

NL - 3501 DD Utrecht

tel + 31 (0)30 2361500

www.stichtingoikos.nl

email jvdsar@stichtingoikos.nl

Meet Dr. Konstantinos Kenanidis, the new general director of the Orthodox Academy of Crete

2009-04-26T10:19:00.004+02:00

The last few days I spent on Crete, meeting the new general director of the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Dr. Konstantinos Kenanidis, learning about the situation of the acacemy, the plans and visions of the new director, and the new Metropolitan who is chairing the board of the academy. Travelling with the German ambassador to Greece, Dr. Wolfgang Schultheiss, and meeting the Archbishop of Crete, Irenäus, who in his earlier years was a member of our executive committee. Taking part in the liturgy at the Chrysopigi monastery and talking to the sisters there, enjoying their hospitality, and last not least seeing my old friends Alekos Papaderos, and many more people who I cannot all list here - all in all, it was sucha pleasure being in Crete again after quite a while!
Here is a short greeting from Kostas, taken with my iPhone in front of the new building of the academy.

2009-03-08T08:59:00.004+01:00

Visiting the Academy of Theological Studies in Volos/Greece (02-2009)

Oikosnet Africa: DPC pre-assembly workshop in Ghana

2009-01-25T17:49:00.002+01:00

The

Ramseyer Training Centre in Abetifi hosted from 26 - 29 November 2008 the workshop included as a pre-event before the General Assembly of ACLCA. The training team - Jaap vand der Sar, Igeme Katagwe, Iulia Picu - introduced 26 participants from all over Africa, members of ACLCA, to the content of Dialogue for Peaceful Change, with emphasis on aspects like communication, models of understanding human behaviour when conflicts are arising or present – as well as different possibilities of dealing with conflicts. Quite some time was spent on mediation, both formal and informal.Through experiential learning, the participants were led into becoming aware of their almost instinctive reactions in conflict situations and understand that they could bring their own experience and knowledge as a key-resource to the workshop.The reactions, both in a verbal round in the last plenary session as well as on paper, indicated that participants recognised the patterns, as they were taught. There was an overwhelming positive response and requests for future training to be held in other centres.

"On my part what I found striking especially from participants is the avalache of requests to hold DPC in their Centers. Two ladies from Cameroon were emphatic and made it my farewell message that I should arrange a DPC workshop for francophone Africa. I spoke to the Francophone representative, Dr Pascal Foussou, who was excited about the idea. In a nutshell life in Africa is bridled with types of conflict that can have social disruption on unwanted scale. So DPC training with its emphasis on mediative skills is appropriate. With Africa we have to widen the part of mediative behaviour because of the latent conflicts that are on the rise regarding different enthnic communities"

Igeme Katagwe

From the DPC blog

Pray for India

2008-12-04T16:15:00.001+01:00

Global Oikosnet Leaders.

Dear Friends:

Greetings from ACISCA/OIKOSNET ASIA.

I wish to thank friends who have expressed sympathy and solidarity for the people who died and wounded in Mumbai terrorist attack. I appreciate your initiative. Thank you so much.

Let us all join and express our sorrow, sympathy.and solidarity with the people of India.

The terror attacks of 11/26 on Mumbai had aim not only to terrorize the Indians but the whole world as they had tried during 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The similarity is easy to identify. The terrorist selected major multicultural cities and tried to terrorize every section, irrespective of caste, religion, and race. The attacks are inhuman, mindless and meaningless. More than 200 innocent lives were lost including 20 valiant men on duty who laid down their lives. There is a mood of anger, frustration. The terrorist threat is not over. Indian home ministry warned of possible use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons by terrorists. Biological attack likely in next 5 years, a top US panel said, identifying Pakistan as an area of "grave concern" due to terror networks, history of instability and its atomic arsenal.

The objective behind a terror strike is not necessarily retribution for perceived injustice being done to any particular community - as was the case with the serial blasts in Mumbai. That was ostensibly to seek revenge for the attacks on the minority community in various parts of India. Today, the terrorists have larger agenda, not limited to local regions, states or even the nation. They have gone pan-global. And terror strikes have assumed multi-dimensional objectives. One of the major objectives is obviously to send a message to the ruling establishment, and in effect to the rest of world, which is - don't mess with us, we are capable of inflicting massive damage.

It is high time for everyone to understand that violence does not solve the problem but merely makes matters worse. Today world needs peace. Peace demands a mentality and a spirit which must permeate us who wishes to bring peace. Peace is first and foremost personal, before it is social. Every one needs to cultivate spirit of peace and consider it has duty. The soul of peace is love. Let us keep our hearts in peace let nothing in this world disturb it.

Let us pray for India and world in its need, asking God to bring peace, harmony and progress. Let us pray that God's will may be done in the world. His purposes are deeper and wiser than anything we can imagine.

Friends, may I suggest to organize prayer meetings at our centers for peace in India and world.

God bless you.

Yours Sincerely

John Zechariah

Chairman ACISCA/Oikosnet Asia.

issa@pn2.vsnl.net.in

Environment: 35 cities across Europe apply to become the first European Green Capital for 2010 and 2011

2008-10-02T17:22:00.002+02:00

"This annual award is a new initiative to be presented to a city in the vanguard of environmentally friendly urban living. Some 35 cities from 17 European countries have applied for the 2010 and 2011 awards. Applications for the European Commission's new European Green Capital award are now closed. The applicants are: Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Bremen, Bristol Cluj-Napoca, Copenhagen, Dublin, Espoo, Freiburg, Hamburg, Hannover, Helsinki, Kaunas, Lisbon, Łódź, Magdeburg, Malmø, Montpellier, Mûnchen, Münster, Murcia, Oslo, Pamplona, Prague, Riga, Rotterdam, Sabadell, Stockholm, Tampere, Toruń, Valencia, Vienna, Vilnius, Vitoria-Gazteiz and Zaragoza. The applications will now be considered by an evaluation panel. Six cities (three for 2010 and three for 2011) will then be shortlisted and asked to submit a more detailed presentation. Towards the end of the year the evaluation panel will present their recommendations to a Jury which will then make a final decision. The announcement of the first two European Green Capitals, for 2010 and 2011, will take place at a ceremony planned for early 2009. For more information about the evaluation phase, see www.europeangreencapital.eu "

From: EU Commission midday express, 02/10/2008

Who gets EU cash? New website gives details of beneficiaries

2008-10-02T17:12:00.001+02:00

"Today's launch of the "Financial Transparency system" website and search engine will allow, for the first time ever, free access to details of who receives EU funds managed directly by the Commission and its executive agencies. Based on accounting data, it provides a consolidated view of the previous financial year and contains approximately 28.000 entries on Commission-run programmes in policy areas like research, education and culture, energy and transport and certain aspects of aid to third countries. This new search engine will allow users to analyse and compare information on beneficiaries and policy areas more easily. It is one of the building blocks in the Commission's wider European Transparency Initiative (ETI)."

Link to the "Financial Transparency System website: http://ec.europa.eu/grants/search/index_en.htm

From: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1444&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

2008-09-14T12:24:00.001+02:00

Oikosnet Europe (ex-)colleagues ding out Chez Pierre after the CEC Future Congress in Lyon.
More pictures from the future conference and from the site of the 2009 CEC Assembly under: http://picasaweb.google.de/lenz.wolfgang/CECFutureConference092008Lyon#

2008-09-08T11:10:00.005+02:00

Oikosnet Europe had its Annual Conference in Budapest 2nd-7th of September. We continued our work which has started allready couple of years ago. In this conference "next steps" were taken with help of Collaboration Market. We wanted to know, what we as an Association want to be in the near future and what are those first concrete acts towards this direction. We indeed found four priorities, guidelines which will unite our diversity by proclaiming what do we want to be as members of Oikosnet Europe. And even more, what do we want to do together.

As a first react to this, I´m thinking now one of the priorities, which as a matter of fact, is also an act. That is the idea of greening our centers. Several centers were allready in Budapest ready to shere knowledge and good practices with others. And more will follow, I know.
Actually God as a Creator gave us this task. It is said in the Bible, that God told us as Gods co-workers to take care of the creation. However we have turned our backs to this original duty. I believe, that with this priority of greening our centers we might be allready looking over our shoulders.

Sirpa Koriala
President of Oikosnet Europe

2008-09-07T15:38:00.000+02:00

2008-09-07T14:58:00.000+02:00

Plenary Meeting at Raday College

2008-09-05T17:54:00.000+02:00

Meeting with Zoltan Balogh in the Hungarian Parliament

2008-09-05T07:55:00.000+02:00

The opening worship at Raday College

2008-09-03T16:12:00.000+02:00

Taking a look at the plenary hall for the Annual Conference together with our Hungarian hosts

2008-09-03T13:50:00.000+02:00

Muriel Restu is setting up the conference office at Raday College

Group leaves for Oradea Visiting Community

2008-09-02T17:14:00.000+02:00

Oikosnet Europe Annual Conference 2008 in Budapest started

2008-09-02T17:07:00.001+02:00

The first two and a half days participants are going to two Visiting Communities in smaller groups, one to Berekfürdö and one to Oradea/Romania. There, they will have a chance to learn something about the work of the local member centres in their respective contexts.
Here, some members are leaving from Raday College in Budapest for Berekfürdö.

Former leader of Corrymeela Community consecrated as Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe

2008-07-23T14:35:00.007+02:00

On July 11th, at a service in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, the Rt Revd Trevor Williams was consecrated as the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe.
In the past Trevor was an active member of our association in his years as leader of the Corrymeela Community. During that time the community also received the prestigious Niwano Peace Prize in Japan.

One of his first tasks is to be part of the Lambeth Conference that is tackling crucial issues for the Anglican Communion this week.

Congratulations!

Source: Anglican Church oof Ireland

Successful Inter-religious DPC-training in Pakistan

2008-07-21T12:51:00.001+02:00

20 new DPC-facilitators. This is the result of the training of DPC facilitators, held at the Christian Study Centre in Rawalpindi, Pakistan from 12 - 17 July 2008. Participants came from different organisations from all over the country, as well as from different religious communities - Muslim and Christian. At the beginning of the training the question was raised whether DPC-methodology is applicable in the Pakistani context. The conclusion at the end of the training was: Very much so. Participants recognised that DPC offers a methodology which can be easily applied in families, in organisations as well as in relationships between groups that have conflicting views, or in the prevention stages of conflicts. DPC helps preventing to go to violent stages - that was one of the key learnings that participants took home.
Jaap van der Sar

People news from Oikosnet global

2008-07-09T10:30:00.003+02:00

Kofi Amfo-Akonnor appointed to leadership position of Presbyterian Church of Ghana
Kofi Amfo-Akoonor, since five years director of Ramseyer Training Centre (RTC), Abetifi in Ghana (Member of Oikosnet Africa) informed us that he was appointed as the Director of Church Life and Nurture of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) at the last June General Assembly Council meeting of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Council. He will move to the headquarters of the Church in Accra from the first week of September.
Congratulations, Kofi!
Contact: Kofi Amfo-Akonnor, kofiamfo@yahoo.com
Vesper Society (member of Oikosnet North America) appointed a new vice president
"San Francisco, Calif., June 30, 2008 — An accomplished leader in the arts, education and civic collaboration, Sabrina Lynn Motley has been named vice president of Vesper Society, a faith-based private operating foundation.
As vice president, Motley will develop, manage and evaluate programs for the foundation, which partners with individuals and communities in California and around the world to address health disparities, religious pluralism, economic injustice and other pressing social issues.
“Sabrina’s considerable experience in program development and evaluation plus her skill in creating collaborations strengthen our capacity to bring about measurable change with the partners and communities we serve,” says President Mary Baich.
Motley draws upon a rich background in the arts and academia to apply her passion for social justice. Previously, she directed public programs for the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. She also served as director of programs for the museum’s major educational project, the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, which considers issues of diversity and civic participation. " ... more ...

Oikosnet Europe Annual Conference 2008 in Budapest

2008-05-27T11:09:00.005+02:00

Oikosnet Europe will hold its Annual Conference 2008 from September 2 to 7 in Hungary. From September 2 to 4, Visiting Community groups will go to Kecskemet, Tahi, Berekfürdö and Oradea to study the work of Hungarian/Romanian colleagues in their own context. From September 4 to 7 all will meet for the plenary part at Raday College in Budapest. The Annual Conference is the central communication and collaboration platform for Oikosnet Europe member centres' directors and staff where common projects and activities will be defined and strategic objectives set.