Orientation

Today is the second day of orientation. Yesterday was a basic overview of the grounds, rules, and program as well as a bit of history about Bossey. We filled out the forms to apply for a resident visa and took a very quick trip into Celigny to take the required pictures for the visa. I swear I have taken more passport type pictures for this learning experience than I did in grade school. It’s amazing to me how many official photos are needed and I wonder if there is as much red tape to sift through as a foreigner wishing to study in the US…I would imagine so.

In the afternoon session we had introductions and met some of the professors. The professor teaching the module on mission and evangelism has not yet arrived and the professor of ecumenical theology has not been chosen. The students are going to be involved in the choosing process. There are 3 candidates and we will hear them all and then there will be a committee (sounds like the church no?) that will decided who will be chosen to teach. I’m excited to be a part of the process, especially since the theology module is one I hope to take, and look forward to hearing from all of them.

Today was another long day and I feel like I’m back in J-term Hebrew with Rick. Trying to understand everyone is a daunting task for me as a native English speaker so I can’t imagine how hard it must be for those who just finished the 3 month intensive English session.

We began the day with African worship led by the students from Africa. I am learning some new hymns and hope that I will know them well enough at the end of my time here so that I might bring them back and share them. Each day during orientation we begin with worship from a represented region and then close with a represented tradition. Today was Anglican and the General Secretary of the Council of European churches, Colin Williams, lead the afternoon session on the Anglican tradition. We have 2 female students from the Church of England along with a student from the Anglican church in Kenya, Congo, and Ghana. These 5 spoke a bit about the Anglican church in their countries as well as led the evening worship service. I would have to say that the most moving part of worship is saying the Lord’s Pray surrounded by a multitude of languages. To hear my own voice mingling with the choir of praise is an experience for which I have no words.  Yesterday in the opening session, the director of Bossey spoke to us about the challenges of ecumenical dialogue.  One of the challenges lies in the different methods of theological discourse.  One approach is the apophatic approach which relies on experience and finds it hard to define God, while the other approach is cataphatic where people use positive language to define God.  My experience in the chapel with the Lord’s Prayer was an apophatic experience.

The pictures below are of myself and a fellow student by the name of Jeanbonheur Kongolo.  He’s the Anglican from Kenya and Amy Gopp asked me to say hello to him so I thought I’d add the picture so she and others could see one of my fellow students.  The second picture is a picture of the room where are sessions are being held.  There are microphones in front of every person and when we wish to speak we press the button and I feel as if I’m in a WCC or UN meeting.

It is cold, rainy, and windy here today and I hope that the sun will pop out again before winter sets in, but if not I have the warmth of the people and spirit of God working through this place to provide a ray of warm light through the winter.

Beginnings

9-27-06
After a long flight over from the states, I made it to Switzerland and took the train from Zurich to Geneva where I was to stay with Gail and Mac Messenger (Myrna Raney’s brother and sister-in-law.) Upon my arrival in Geneva, Gail and I somehow missed each other and I ended up wandering around the train station, with what felt like 5 tons of baggage, trying to get my bearings and find a way of contacting Gail. Finally about 2.5 hrs. later I found my way to the proper bus stop and Gail was waiting for me to help with my bags. By this time I was exhausted from being up for over 24 hrs, with very brief bouts of sleep on the plane, but I knew I needed to stay up to get over the jet lag, so I had a bite to eat and Gail and I headed out to the market. It was a nice walk and I ended the evening with dinner and conversation before crashing and sleeping until 11:30 the next morning.

9-28-06 – 9-29-06
After a good nights rest, I was up and ready to see some of the sights. Gail took me around Geneva and we visited the church where Calvin preached as well as the San Pierre Cathedral and the Wall of the Reformation. We climbed about 100 steps up the tower of the Cathedral and were rewarded by a spectacular view of Geneva. We could see the entire city including the Jet d’ea for which Geneva is known. The pictures included are from that day. We stopped for panninis from a street vendor and sat on some steps by the lake and enjoyed one of the last days of nice weather before the rain set in. The evening was relaxed and Gail prepared a wonderful healthy meal as always. The next day Gail and I went for an invigorating hike in a forest near the town of Jussy and the rest of the day was spent enjoying the sunshine and relaxing.

9-30-06 – 10-1-06
This was the day I was to arrive at Bossey and after a minor miscommunication I was able to make my way to Bossey and settle into my room. The students stay in Petite Bossey which is a short walk away from the Chateau where classes, meals, and worship services are held. Arrivals were scheduled for 9/30 and 10/1 so it is just after 1 pm here and most everyone has arrived. We are slowly getting to know each other and will begin a rigorous 2 week orientation tomorrow at 8:30 am.

Tomorrow is the general overview and the following days are each themed by a different Christian tradition so that we might all have a basic understanding of those traditions not our own. This will last until October 15th and we start classes that following Monday the 16th. I am very much looking forward to what experiences I will encounter on my ecumenical journey at Bossey and my goal is to keep this blog updated so that you all will be able to walk with me on that journey.