One of the most incredible moments of this year has to have been my recent trip to Geneva, working on communications for the Pope's visit to the World Council of Churches. It was certainly an experience that made me wonder just what happened to get me there. That question ultimately made me consider not just what had happened in the past and the circumstances that led me to my present, but also what that means for my future. My boss asked if I'd write a blog post about it. Below is a copy of the post published on www.anglicanews.org. Do you ever have those moments in life that make you pause and wonder “How did I manage to get here?” I’ve had quite a few of those over the nine months I have spent as a communications intern with the Anglican Communion Office, and last week I had yet another. Last Wednesday, I sat surrounded by communications professionals from across Europe in a hot room in Geneva. We were reviewing the communications plan for the Pope’s visit to the ecumenical body known as the World Council of Churches, and I truly wondered just what series of events had landed me there. The next day I stood with a crowd of staff members and volunteers with the World Council of Churches (or WCC), waiting for Pope Francis to arrive. We all clutched our phones, edging to the front of the crowd, all strategising the best possible photo, and laughing in excitement. Nothing builds community quite like anticipation. And then there he was, Pope Francis. While it would have been easy to stay caught up in the awe of the moment, there wasn’t time. Moreover, the message of the day was even more commanding than the presence of the Pope himself. The WCC, already a leading player in the global ecumenical movement, and the Pope shared a message of walking together, of being united in Christ. “Whenever we say ‘Our Father’, we feel an echo within us of our being sons and daughters, but also of our being brothers and sisters. Prayer is the oxygen of ecumenism,” Pope Francis said in his speech to the WCC’s Central Committee.
We live in anxious times, but I found encouragement in the message of “Walking, praying and working together.” I believe that for all trials we face as a Church, we are united in the one faith of Jesus Christ. We can be a light to the nations and set an example of the impact unity makes. Each of us is critical to making that a reality. So now, as I reflect back on that moment of awe while working with the WCC, I’ve realised that asking “How did I get here?” is the wrong question. The better one is “What can I do now that I am here?”
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Me: Amelia BrownAvid runner & baker, following God's call to year of mission and service work in the Episcopal Church & Anglican Communion. Archives
August 2018
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