No Nazis on our streets

There is an organisation/political party in Sweden called Nordic Resistance Movement. It’s a tiny, pathetic bunch of so called patriots. In fact they are a Nzi moivement. They did not get many votes in the recent election. They did not make it into any local council let alone to the parliament. Some say: let’s just neglect them. I dont' think it’s that easy. They are militant and they create fear.

Today I saw on Facebook that they were active in the city centre. Someone wrote about it and made a comment about the LGBTI festival that is held in Uppsala this weekend. I realised that people in that community would experience the presence of Nazis in a very specific way. I checked on the website of the Pride festival, named:

Welcome Out

This was the text I found:

WARNING: Nazi demonstrators spotted in the city, the corner outside of S:t Per's Gallerian. 

Stay safe, avoid the area if you are feeling unsure. Don’t take photos, don’t get photographed. There will be a group leaving SENSUS (main event area) before the party tonight if you want to travel in a group. You can also contact the main lobby there if you want to go with another person to an event. 

This is the square they are standing in: 

https://goo.gl/maps/uF5QGbHpVa32

It is obvious that even a small group of organised Nazis are a security risk to some. Therefore I decided to finish my cup of coffee and move to the place where the demonstration was held.

A number of polices in front of us. The Nazis have just left.

I found a counterdemonstration about fifty meters away from the few Nazis. In between were a number of polices with a dog. I joined the counterdemonstration in chanting:

No Nazis on our streets

After some time the NMR-group folded their banners and left.

Together with many other citizens of Sweden I look forward to the day when organised Nazism will be forbidden. The ideology is totally non democratic and resulted in the death of millions of Jews together with large numbers from the LGBTI community as well as Romani people and others. We don’t need this again. Never.

Make safe the road from Jericho to Jerusalem!

Elmina Castle is the oldest European building south of Sahara.
A symbol of slave trade. What does it say to us today?

In the shadow of Elmina Castle, the stronghold used by European slave traders on the Cape Coast of Ghana …

A consultation of Christians, studying the Bible, praying, worshiping and listening to God and one another met in Ghana some time ago. They met to listen ...

... to the stories of individual Christians who have struggled to form their consciences and deepen their faith in churches that frequently deny the very humanity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

I was touched by the statement that came out of this gathering. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) was a key text that the group studied. 

The call to the Anglican Communion (but I take it as a call to the Universal Church) is to serve as ... 

... places of sanctuary for those who live under the threat of violence for working on behalf of the gospel. We understand this group to include LGBTI people, women and men living with HIV, ethnic, racial and religious minorities on both continents and those who are potential victims of gender violence. 

I was especially moved by the end of the statement (which can be found on the website of the Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa. 

And because we understand that the church must not only act as Good Samaritans to those who are robbed and beaten but also work at the systemic level to make safe the road from Jericho to Jerusalem that is walked by everyone who strives for just and fair societies and full inclusion in the Body of Christ, we pledge to work collaboratively in opposing the legacy of colonialism and its present day manifestations, to stand against all principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12, Romans 8:38-39), and to understand that these evils are rooted in ideologies of power and domination that have no place in the church or in our societies. 

How can we help each other to make safe the road from Jericho to Jerusalem?

Tanzania 7

Day eight. Our last day. Usually this kind of day means packing and waiting for the car to leave for the airport. Not for us.

A dance group had made contact with Penina and asked if we were interested in watching their show. Could it be squeezed in? Certainly! But before that Dag had asked if I could sit in when the Master students of the Gender, Theology and Health programmed defended their theses. And the leadership had promised that this was in order.

So, I also managed to listen to one presentation this last day in Tanzania and in Africa. One of Dag’s students defended and the theme was interesting. Something about the parental silence among Pare people, in relation to Sexual and Reproductive Health.

This programme, sponsored by Church of Sweden, with money from Sida, we also have at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. And at Stellenbosch in South Africa and EGST in Ethiopia. I have been a little involved at UKZN. But as far as I know, the students do not defend their theses there.

I will not say much about the thesis as I have not read it. But the comments, at the end, given by the Dean of the Faculty of Theology and by the Vice Chancellor of the Tumaini University Makumira were very interesting.

The VC asked the student if he had spoken about sexuality with his children. Before he could answer the VC confessed that his father never did that with him. When the student heard that he directly said that this was also his experience but that he had started to talk with his children, after he had begun to write his thesis.

Then the Dean made a comment, which I think was extremely important. She mentioned that her aunt had been the person who had spoken to her about these things and that one should not forget the contribution of other, significant adults, close to the children.

When I had left the one defense that I were present in, I joined a group of Master Students, that were waiting outside the building to hear the results of each and every student. With them I had a very open discussion about sexuality in general and LGBTI in particular. I was amazed how openly these things were discussed.

I am very glad that I also got this important experience from my visit to Tanzania.

It was with these students I had a very interesting conversation about rather sensitive issues.

Closing prayer in Busan

Father Michael Lapsley, who lost both his hands and one of his eyes in a letterbomb attack carried out by the South African Security Police in 1990 - after the release of Mandela. He can speak convincingly about the need for healing of memories. 

The 10 Assembly of the World Council of Churches is over. I am just back from the closing prayer. Allow me to quote the preacher, Father Michael Lapsley, on some important points:

About post-apartheid South Africa:

In our context in South Africa when a black mother sits with a white mother and says that her child never returned form fighting apartheid, the white mother may reply, my child did return but is still damaged by what s/he experienced. Suddenly they are both mothers united by the pain they carry.

About the Armenian genocide in 1915:

Your Holiness and All Armenians – may I today say from this place, we have heard what you said – your people did indeed suffer a great wrong. May the Great healer accompany you so those wounds may truly heal to enable all Armenians to also help others on their journey of healing.

About human sexuality:

Today I want to say as a Christian, as a priest, to all the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex community, I am deeply sorry for our part as religious people, in the pain you have experienced across the ages. I have a dream that in my lifetime, I will hear all the leaders of all our great faith traditions making the same apology.

Referring to the context of the risen Lord, as the scripture was read from Luke 24:28-35:

The crucified and risen one invites us to look at and touch one another’s wounds – to listen and to hear the pain of each other and so become one.

It was a strong message about how we as an ecumenical movement, being so different, still are called into unity.

The need for this became very clear when after the sermon we were invited to exchange peace with one another. Just before this one or maybe two protesters ran into the worship hall and aimed for the microphone in order to denounce the WCC as evil. The protesters were literally carried away and we were a few who felt sorry that they were handled quite brutally.

Tomorrow I will start the journey back home, back to South Africa. It has been very rewarding weeks. Although I am quite exhausted I know I will cherish this for the rest of my life. And I am more dedicated than ever to the theme of the Assembly:

God of life, lead us to justice and peace.