Just beginning...

So it's all just beginning and it's obvious that this is a truly extraordinary group of Christians from so many different contexts, confessions and continents. There are so many stories to tell of conversion for sure, but before that of life and witness and so many challenges - for some also just the sheer challenge of living and believing in the gospel in their own contexts-

My magpie brain is full of late night shining bits of half begun and half overheard conversations - and as always translation questions.

Our end of the supper table was francophone - two Reformed pastors from France, a Jesuit priest from Algeria and a Archimandrite from the Melkite Church in Damascus. We spoke about the amazing sense of church history you could get from walking in the old town in Damascus - first past a Greek Catholic Church, then an Armenian Catholic Church then a Syrian Orthodox church then a Protestant Church then the Armenian Orthodox Church etc; about problems in Algeria for a Protestant pastor who had been working particularly with the Kabyle people - his residence permit had not been renewed. Living as Christians in predominantly Muslim countries, it was interesting to hear their stories of ecumenical solidarity between Christians in such situations: "The confessional differences matter to the clergy but not much to the Christian faithful".

And in the background - is it really only in the background - is 9/11 - making progress in the area of conversion more essential, yet also polarising the debate within and between religions.

However tomorrow more pressing worries about how the interpretation equipment will work - including my own brain - will need to be faced. Something approaching a night's sleep might help if I am to begin to render the Archbishop of Toulouse into half way decent English.

The other fascinating thing to me today were the two particpants from Malaysia - both speak excellent English, but the Roman Catholic bishop also speaks excellent French - as a result of his studies - and the Protestant speaks excellent German as a result of his studies. Maybe there are links between confessions and languages...

Bonne nuit!