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To Help One Another — to Learn from One Another

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To Help One Another — to Learn from One Another To help one another — To learn from one another Fund for Mission in Europe Project list 2006 Dear Contributor, “You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” (Abraham Lincoln) Did you know that in Serbia almost one half of young adults are unemployed? That in recent years about 400,000 Polish people left their homes in order to find a better life in the West? That in Hungary the cost of housing and heat often devours over 60% of a monthly salary? Yes, you are very correct. You already read similar bad news about these countries in the past. This makes it especially clear that the living conditions in much of Europe are not improving as quickly as we would like. And, of course, this situation also applies to the United Methodist Church. For instance, in some countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, our churches cannot even pay 20% of needed salaries. Under these circumstances, it is inevitable that a certain financial dependency on the (United) Methodist Churches in the West has occurred and care is required to assure that this dependency will not affect the quality of the resulting work (i.e. “We cannot afford what is necessary; we must do only that for which money is available.”). But those in charge of the United Methodist Church in the various countries of (South) Eastern Europe are all united in agreement that today’s situation must not be the same in the future. Rather they aim to step onto the right path towards self-sufficiency – in spite of difficult overall conditions. On the horizon, the mutual hope remains, of enabling one another to create a community in which there is no fear, no poverty, no hunger, no oppression and no overstrain, so that life itself can unfold. It is exactly for this reason the Fund for Mission in Europe was created. The point is not to collect money to help local churches somewhere in (South)Eastern Europe to survive for the sake of themselves. Rather we need to really pay attention to one another. And we need to support one another in our efforts to spread the Gospel of God’s love in words which the people of today can understand, and in deeds which make the witness of the Church believable. The Fund for Mission in Europe is really about people and our responsibility for the lives of all people, because God loves life. I thank you for your interest in this project list and, in advance, for your financial contribu- tions and for your prayers. Your most appreciated support will put faith into action. Bishop Heinrich Bolleter Chairperson of the Commission on the Fund for Mission in Europe Mission in Europe I 3 Equipping for a new alignment The Fund for Mission in Europe was established in 1990. The political landscape in East- ern Europe and in the Balkans had fundamentally changed. Thus, the United Methodist Church stood suddenly facing this historical opening, which created many possibilities for new evangelism and service to people of different countries. However, lacking were sufficient numbers of trained church workers, a functioning infrastructure (including suitable church space) and money. In the course of the following years the Fund for Mission in Europe developed into a valuable instrument of solidarity between people in the West and Eastern Europe. Countless large and small donations have, since that time, resulted in much good. Now the Fund for Mission in Europe aims to develop further. This instrument of solidar- ity should act as a working tool both to build new Methodist Churches and to reinvigo- rate existing ones, as well as to support new mission initiatives on the road to a Europe of the 21st century. Our vision is not that of mutual independence, but rather the recog- nition that in our very doing and being we are dependent upon one another. In the contemporary preaching of the Gospel and in the development of social programs for the less fortunate, we need mutual exchange in order to learn from one another. The Fund for Mission in Europe will, for that reason, make possible exchange – for in- stance, within the context of congregational partnerships or volunteers in mission teams. Furthermore, it will facilitate the exchange of mission ideas, as well as the ex- change of mission workers. Finally, it provides a forum so that important topics regard- ing the Church’s existence can be discussed both in the present and in the future. For 2006, theological education in the former communist countries is such a subject. Naturally, funding always play an important role. So, in this brochure, you will find descriptions of 33 different projects in about 20 countries, for which we hope to obtain contributions in the amount of € 339,500.00. There are three possibilities for selecting “your” project: a) On the next pages you will find the projects arranged according to the 4 priority themes of the Fund for Mission in Europe. b) If you are more interested in a certain country, then you can find a subsequent listing of the same projects organized by country. c) You can donate without indicating a specific project, contributing to a general pool of money, and thereby making it possible for the committee, on behalf of “Mission in Europe”, to fill in funding gaps or to support urgent new requests. A heart-felt thanks for your support. And, if you have any questions, then please con- tact us. Above all, that is why we are here. Urs Schweizer 4 I Mission in Europe 1. Working towards Sustainability In many European countries, the Methodist churches cannot serve without financial assistance. In planting the seed for further development of these churches, however, it is important that this assistance does not create dependency – either financial and certainly not in terms of content. Hence, it is an important concern of the Fund for Mission in Europe to promote the self-sufficiency of the receiving churches. This means that the churches can increasingly stand on their own feet in terms of personnel, con- tent, as well as financially. Additionally, it means that they bring themselves, as giving communities, complete with their own identities and the wealth of their belief experi- ences, into the worldwide Methodist family. Your donations will allow the pastors to earn at least a minimum living wage; they will support the development of new models of pastoral service, and they will enable the building of a functioning church infrastructure (this implies also providing suitable church space). AL-101 Community Building in Bishnica and Surrounding Areas Albania € 20,000.00 BG-101 Salary Support for Leaders of the Turkish, Armenian and Roma (“Gypsy”) congregations Bulgaria € 10,000.00 HR-101 Church Development on the Adriatic Croatia € 20,000.00 LV-101 Salary Support for Pastors of New Congregations Latvia € 7,500.00 LT-101 Salary Support for Two New Pastors Lithuania € 3,500.00 MK-101 Salary Support for Pastors Macedonia € 10,000.00 MK-102 New Hymnals Macedonia € 15,000.00 PL-101 Support for Pastors’ Salaries / Surviving Spouse Pension Fund Poland € 15,000.00 PL-104 Radio and Television Ministry Poland € 7,000.00 PT-101 Salary Support for Pastors Portugal € 20,000.00 YU-101 Salary Support for Pastors Serbia € 8,000.00 SK-101 Food Vouchers for Pastors (Salary Support) Slovak Republic € 8,000.00 Mission in Europe I 5 SK-103 Improvement of the Insulation of the Church Building in Jenkovce Slovak Republic € 6,500.00 HU-101 Salary Support for Pastors Hungary € 15,000.00 HU-103 Improvement of Pastor’s Housing in Nyiregyhaza Hungary € 20,000.00 2. Theological Education With the political changes of about 15 years ago, a “time of grace” began in the former- ly communist countries and dozens of churches have come into being. For the “old” churches, as well as for a healthy further development of the new ones, the guidance of leaders well-trained in theology is necessary. In the area of theological education, there exists a critical need to “catch up”, due to the years of suppression under Commu- nist rule. The goal of theological education is not simply to ensure that all churches can each have their own pastor. This is neither from a financial nor from a personnel perspective feasible. Rather, then, the objective of theological and continuing education for pastors, as well as specialized training for lay people, will have been reached when both the “new” and the “old” United Methodist churches engage in their mission tasks in creative, believable ways and are, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “the Church for Others”. The Fund for Mission in Europe wishes to offer support in reaching these goals, especially in the form of collaboration across (linguistic and other) boundaries. EE-102 Theological Continuing Education Estonia € 4,500.00 EA-102 Theological Education for Lay Leaders Eurasia € 30,000.00 AT-101 Theological Training Program of Graz/Waiern Austria € 15,000.00 PL-102 Theological Education for Lay Leaders Poland € 10,000.00 SK-104 United Methodist Library in Banska Bystrica Slovak Republic € 3,000.00 HU-102 Theological Continuing Education Hungary € 3,000.00 6 I Mission in Europe 3. Being a Learning Church God’s message is timeless. The life conditions of people, on the other hand, are subject to large and small variations. Therefore, it is always a great challenge for Churches – including the United Methodist Church – to find suitable words and deeds for commu- nicating this message. But “he who has only a hammer as a tool, sees a nail in each problem” (Paul Watzlawick).
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