Youth 2012

Face2Faith in Europe

From acquaintances to friends

Executive Summary

From 9nd to 13th May 2012 about 50 students from various European groups will gather in Leuven/Belgium in the context of that year’s “Together for Europe” activities. The event is called Face2Faith in Europe and will both consider the Biblical idea of friendship and build friendships, with the explicit aim to be better equipped to shape the future direction of our continent. Presentations, discussions and sharings will contribute to make them more articulate in their own fields of study and to weave a network of lasting friendships across churches, groups and countries.

Background

The whole world is interconnected in exchanging private, important, and sometimes useless news and information making use of an increasing number of global social networks. Creativity and even the power to change societies have been attributed to these social networks; this was seen in a special way during the various protest movements in Tunisia and Egypt. Here, being part of internet platforms seemingly encouraged and facilitated social change.

But although social networks are flooding the internet with a lot of information, and although they do link people to each other, Christians do not seem to use social networks in the same manner. In fact, they appear to remain surprisingly silent and inarticulate; moreover, they come across as less connected and therefore fail to make their presence known when it comes to burning political and social questions. This is in stark contrast with the message they have been given to share; a message that was given to the world in order to shape relationships and even societies. After all, Christians could rely on the promise that the Spirit would provide them with words to speak.

It is Jesus Himself who keeps inviting everybody to become part of His worldwide network of His friends; be it in the local community, in the parish, at work or anywhere else. And He commissions those communities to spread His message in word – and deed. That means that Christians are urgently invited by Jesus to put their faith into practice; to make a difference in the political and social arena. To be precise, He instructs His disciples and friends: “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Friendship necessarily leads to engagement, because Jesus calls His friends to act in His way.

Face 2 Faith in Europe- the Event

From 9nd to 13th May 2012 about 50 students from all over Europe will convene in Leuven/Belgium to answer Jesus’ invitation. These European students do not only represent the countries and the faculties they are coming from, they also represent the young and future Europe, which heavily depends on networking and thinking in an European or even global perspective. We therefore consider it both inspiring and profitable to discuss social networks and the notion of friendship they  promote and then to contrast that with the friendship Jesus offers. What are the implications of Jesus’ saying “You are my friends if you do what I command” ?
Not only will these students meet during these days in order to give papers or think theoretically  about their possible engagement in the relevant political and social spheres; rather we want them to experience concretely the kind of friendship Jesus is promoting. Therefore, the seminars are embedded into common times of prayer, Bible study and worship, sports, recreation, discussions and daily times of sharing.  

Face 2 Faith- Target Groups

For these five days in Leuven we are looking for students who:
•    Have a deep interest in the future development of Europe.
•    Come from different faculties, yet are able to engage in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary debates.
•    Are proficient in English.

The whole project is embedded in a much larger movement called “Together for Europe”: about 250 spiritual movements and communities have joined together in an alliance of love that is based on forgiveness, mutual appreciation and friendship that crosses any denominational boundaries. Five of these movements and communities (The Sword of the Spirit , Focolare, Offensive Junger Christen, YMCA Munich, Christusbruderschaft Selbitz) have joined in order to plan and conduct this meeting. Due to this connection, students from movements of “Together for Europe” are particularly encouraged to apply; but we have also reserved some spaces for students from other Protestant or Catholic university groups or chaplaincies. Applications are to be directed to Martin Steinbereithner  (The Sword of the Spirit) Cet adresse mail est protégé contre les spambots. Vous avez d'activer le javascript pour la visualiser. or Sister Nicole Grochowina (Christusbruderschaft Selbitz) Cet adresse mail est protégé contre les spambots. Vous avez d'activer le javascript pour la visualiser. .

Faith 2 Faith- Schedule

Day    Morning    Afternoon    Evening
Wed 9th May    -    Arrive for dinner    Introduction/orientation
Thu 10th May    “I call you friends” – reflecting on notion of Biblical friendship    Sport – recreation    Testimonies of Christians in arts, politics, business
Fri 11th May    “If you do what I tell you” – considering the Christian vocation in society    Discussions according to academic disciplines    “What is our hope for Europe?” – preparing a statement for EU gathering
Sat 12th May    “The societal context we find ourselves in” – cultural programme to help us understand our Age    Meeting in the EU headquarters – “Together for Europe”    Debriefing about the day
Sun 13th May    Church services – commissioning, prayer and closing sharings    End with lunch    -

On Saturday 12th May the whole group will follow the event “Together for Europe” which will be held in the European Parliament in Brussels. This event is one of many held all over Europe by different movements and communities. In Germany, for example, people will gather around tables in cities, towns and villages and invite others to take part – and become friends. Pictures from these events will be spread via social networks and other new media, so that everybody in Europe can follow what happens in other countries. The meeting in Brussels in turn will be broadcasted all over Europe by satellite.
As the students both experience and grow in the spirit of “Together for Europe”, a new worldview will be instilled which takes its inspiration from Jesus’ understanding of friendship. All in all, the idea is to meet as acquaintances but to leave as friends who are connected by specific ideas and by a desire to shape the future of Europe.

Faith2Face- Practical Details

•    Cost: about 170 Euros (more will be clear once we know whether get any subsidy from the EU)
•    Age: 18-28
•    How to register: please send an application letter to Martin Steinbereithner  Cet adresse mail est protégé contre les spambots. Vous avez d'activer le javascript pour la visualiser. or Sister Nicole Grochowina Cet adresse mail est protégé contre les spambots. Vous avez d'activer le javascript pour la visualiser. explaining stating your background, age, direction of studies and why you are interested in Europe.