Shalom with you!

From March 13 to 16, 2025, around 85 delegates and guests from 15 countries met at the Winterthur United Methodist Church (Switzerland) for the 20th Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
 
In the opening worship service as well as in the devotions and Bible studies, it was repeatedly emphasized that the Hebrew term "shalom" means much more than the absence of war: wholeness, for example, collective well-being or life-enhancing orderliness of the world. Nevertheless, it became obvious how much the question of peace - or rather the question of non-peace - preoccupied the delegates and guests who had traveled to Winterthur from very different circumstances.
 
Not that the Central Conference meeting was disharmonious. On the contrary, the atmosphere was characterized by great mutual appreciation, honest, trusting and sometimes very deep conversations, over and over a cheerful lightness and a willingness to listen to each other with open ears and an open heart.
 
But when the superintendent responsible for the work in North Africa, Freddy Nzambe, reported on the difficult situation of Christians in North Africa, when Pastor Novica Brankov from Novi Sad gave an insight into the politically and socially very tense situation in Serbia, when attention was drawn to the war in Ukraine - then something of the deep longing for peace became palpable. What does it mean in concrete terms to be shalom bearers and, as individuals, as congregations, and as a whole Church, to live a hopeful alternative to what is a life-suppressing and even destructive reality in so many places?
 
The "Guidelines for a Responsible Way of Life", which attempt to concretize John Wesley's General Rules for today, focus on shalom in a comprehensive sense. What does it mean to "do no harm", "do good" and "seeking the space of God's grace"? The delegates adopted these guidelines and recommended them for active use in home groups and other groups in the congregations.
 
A public participation evening on the topic of "Migration" also drew on these guidelines and offered plenty of space to listen to each other across geographical and linguistic borders and share one’s own experiences. How do we as individuals and communities practice hospitality, integration and inclusion - and what is the difference between these three terms?
 
When the Central Conference was not about welcoming people, but about letting them go, the attitude of appreciation did not change in any way. For example, the decision of the Annual Conference in the Czech Republic to leave the worldwide UMC and found an autonomous church was deeply regretted. At the same time, however, respect for this decision was evident - as was gratitude that the UMC in the Czech Republic is prepared to take the long path provided for in the Book of Discipline. Against this background, the affirmation that the doors are open for a return were not empty words, but an expression of a heartfelt attitude.
 
A detailed discussion about the future of the UMC in Europe was also characterized by honesty and respect. The reason for this was the growing solidarity between the European Central Conferences on the one hand, but also the reality of a shrinking Church on the other. In the coming years, the UMC in Europe will have to intensively address the key question of what relationships and structures are needed to live out God's mission as shalom bearers in a rapidly changing world. Against this backdrop, a joint meeting of all European executive authorities of the UMC will take place for the first time in spring 2026.
 
In his "Word to the Central Conference", Bishop Stefan Zürcher also identified important issues facing the UMC in Central and Southern Europe:
 
- How can we get people who have grown up in the church to participate in it in such a way that it becomes their church, too? And how can we succeed in building a church with people who have not been socialized in a church?
- How does the church deal with the increasing shortage of pastors - and which leaders are needed today?
- How can management responsibility be spread across more shoulders?
- How can increasingly scarce resources be used in the most sustainable way?
- How can diversity become a blessing - and what does it mean to participate in God's mission in the context of growing nationalism in Europe?
 
Bishop Stefan Zürcher did not provide ready-made answers to these questions. But he emphasized what is important to him for the path into the future:
 
- to value the church as a fragile vessel and to act with hope
- to strengthen the bond across all borders
- to experiment with diverse forms of church
- to let children and young people experience that they are already part of the church today
- to support (young) people in their development as dedicated leaders
- a commitment to the welfare of all creatures
- a church as a place where the dignity of all is protected and where there is no room for violation of integrity of any kind
- sustainable use of available resources - also with a view to preserving creation as the basis of life for all creatures
 
The meeting of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe was not a place where the church was turned upside down. But it was a place where trust was strengthened, relationships were reestablished and deepened, and awareness for sustainable cooperation was heightened. A good basis for confidently returning to the respective congregations as shalom bearers and supporting each other across all borders in passing on God's shalom and hopefully changing a part of the world.
 
Urs Schweizer, Assistant to the Bishop Stefan Zürcher