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It’s taken a while, but a Protestant congregation in Italy has learned to live together despite wide cultural diversity. The process has been guided by the pastor’s conviction that intercultural work is an expression of Christian unity.
“I see my task primarily as facilitating the process of love. In fact love is the main tool for building unity,” says Rev. Michel Charbonnier.
The pastor serves a Methodist congregation within the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, with meeting places in Bologna and Modena. Love has been needed.
Over the years, people from many countries, including many Ghanaians, had joined in the life of the groups meeting in the two cities. However, when the number of Ghanaians began to increase ten years ago –eventually growing to 100 new members in Modena alone – the differences in size of the two groups and the lack of an appropriate meeting space made it difficult to continue worshipping together.
The story in Bologna was quite different. Their group was already well-established as a multi-cultural community that today includes people from 23 nationalities. Charbonnier says the unity has grown out of shared storytelling over meals and during evening gatherings as much as through formal programmes.
“It began by providing space for people to tell stories of their experiences. People from different backgrounds would get together to talk about their spiritual and ethical beliefs and about being Christian in their own contexts and what a church service looks like. We didn’t do anything special except to provide space, safety, encouragement, and opportunities to get to know each other,” Charbonnier explains. “Telling stories led to ‘their stories’ being those of the whole group.”
At first it was hard work to bring diverse people together. It was necessary to be intentional about creating opportunities to gather. But over the years, people have come to know each other and are now instinctively inclusive, whether it comes to diaconal activities, or to liturgy and music, or any other aspect of church life.
The grave illness of a Ghanaian couple’s young daughter was a transforming moment in the development of loving unity. When doctors said there was nothing more to be done for the child, people from different backgrounds gathered around the family in their own ways. Some believed a sick person should be taken to hospital, others believed in the power of prayer. When the child was hospitalized, there were people under the windows of the hospital singing, dancing and praying, Charbonnier recalls. This opened up discussion about different beliefs about what leads to healing, he says.
The question of the power of prayer has led to discussions at the church, as have the different ways of praying that are apparent in different cultural traditions.
“Some people like silence, stillness, and even a hard bench,” Charbonnier says with a smile. “Others say ‘I need to shake my body and shout at the top of my lungs’”
Over time, inclusivity has become instinctive, and there is no need to be intentional about it. But Charbonnier warns that it is important to be vigilant. “It’s like working out,” he says. “If you stop working, your body doesn’t benefit anymore.”
Overcoming barriers to unity is indeed a labour of love.
