Living Diaconally: End of Day Two in Berlin

It is 7:30 pm in Berlin and I am sitting in the Hotel Christophorous on the Campus of the Ev. Johannesstift just outside the city of Berlin. This is the first full day of meetings as yesterday was devoted to arrivals and settling in. My travels went very well, although we left bout 20 minutes late from Seattle we picked up time and arrived in Amsterdam only 5 minutes late. Even so, it was a VERY FAST walk through the airport and security to make it to my connecting fight to Berlin. When I arrived at the gate, whom should I meet but Nazgul Williams from the National Association of Deaconesses, Home Missioners and Home Missionaries (NADHM) of the United Methodist Church. I had met Naz at the last World Gathering in Atlanta in 2009 and also again at the DOTAC Gathering in Oklahoma City in 2011.

When we landed we were given instructions to find the DIAKONIA steward in the airport who would direct us to our hotels. As we gathered together waiting for all the scheduled arrivals for a full van, I met Vernon van Wyk, with whom I had been emailing from the Order of Deacons of the UMC of South Africa. He had given me access to many photos from his community for inclusion into the sideshow I was preparing for the gathering. It was so fun to meet him so quickly! Then I discovered that I was waiting with Sister Janet Stump, the newly installed Directing Deaconess of the Deaconess Community of the ELCA, and three of her other Sisters.

This is what I love most about these gatherings, the chance to make new acquaintances and to renew those made previously. I have seen one member of my small group from Atlanta, she comes from Norway, and lots of people who remember meeting me at their community gatherings when I have been able to attend. I will leave this time with many more new friends. These connections are the meat of this community When I arrive back home I will be part of a larger community with friends around the world When I hear of tsunamis in Indonesia or uprisings in Egypt, I think about my friends Ristua and Sister Joanna.

We officially opened the gathering with an evening prayer in German and English in the beautiful church on the grounds of this place. The Hotel Christophorus, which is where I am housed is a mere 150 meters from the church and meeting place in gorgeous grounds full of sycamore trees, cobbled walkways and green lawns. I will try and upload some pictures, but I hear the connections are slow. We'll see, if you see pictures, it was fast enough for me! :)

So today, Tuesday, was our first full day, and it was full, beginning with Morning Prayer in the beautiful Church on the grounds and continuing with a marvelous greeting brought by Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches and a presentation by Cornelia Coenen-Marx on Diakonia as the healing and liberative ministry of the church. These talks were very interesting and filled with many good thoughts to ponder, but the highlight of the day for me was the first gathering of my small group. It is a tradition of these gatherings that we are placed into small groups that seek to combine people from different countries for relationship building and discussions. Generally they fill the groups with people who can all understand either English or German, the two official languages of Diakonia. My group was half and half; half had no English while the other half had no German! Thankfully, Sister Doris Horn the President of DIAKONIA, joined our group and served as translator I am finding that my German is returning fairly quickly, but I was so thankful she was there, as the conversation would not have been able to be as deep or thoughtful if they had to rely on my German and one other Sister's English!

We ended the day holding our election for our new president, and holding a DOTAC Central Committee meeting to touch base about our Regional meeting time held tomorrow. There we all had a chance to meet "the new Anita Wood" Victoria Reback from the order of Deacons of the United Methodist Church. Anita retired this year, and Victoria is her replacement. This is her first world gathering, as is also true for Rev. Pam Nesbitt of the Association of Episcopal Deacons, who also serves on the DOTAC CC.

As I anticipated, I have already had good, thoughtful discussion with people about my discernment process in looking for another call. The care and concern of this diaconal community for one another is something that perhaps needs to be experienced to be fully understood. As I spoke with Ingrit about my summer of the "B"s - which is what I am calling my travels to Berlin, Baltimore and Brazil this summer - and sharing my hopes for good insights form these diaconal gatherings, she thought about "bees" and how they move from flower t flower, picking up pollen and taking it to other flowers, and that from their travels honey is created, and flowers bear fruit. Good analogy and metaphor with which to close this day's ponderings. Tomorrow evening we have the Cultural night, and I expect that might run late; but I will post as I have time and the ability to sit and ponder.