Archbishop of Church of Sweden on Network and Perilous P:s

– I am excited about this being a network. In a sense, this way of working is new to the Church of Sweden. Usually when we set up a program, we own it. The activities take place in our buildings, we pay and we measure. This is different. It is networking, which means we don’t own it. We try to inspire and to support. Marvellous things happen that we are part of, but we are not in control, the Archbishop says.

Through the network A World of Neighbours, the Archbishop has had the chance to meet many practitioners from all over Europe. The encounters have made lasting impressions on her.

– They are too many to name them all. But I particularly remember a young Lutheran pastor who I met in Hungary. Her name is Marta Bolba. She said: “How can it be wrong to receive the stranger and care for the poor?” That is what she wants to do, and does, in her praxis and yet – she is questioned. It was so impressive to see the compound, how she had built an inclusive community of Muslim families, Christian Students, and homeless people.

Archbishop Antje has summarized the challenges of our time in what she calls the Perilous P:s.

– The destructive synergy of Polarization, Populism, Protectionism, Post-Truth and Patriarchy still worries me. We see shrinking space for democracy in many places. With the Corona-virus,  authoritarian leaders has taken the pandemic as an excuse to weaken democracy, and strengthen their own rule. I worry about the long-term effects of the Corona-crisis, in terms of mental health, effects on the world economy and what it does to global solidarity.

The Perilous P:s is one reason why the network A World of Neighbours came into being. It is an effort to strengthen fruitful, trusting relations between religious practitioners to defend human values and foster peaceful coexistence.

– I really like the notion of neighbour. A good neighbour is a person with whom you not necessarily agree on all things, but who you trust at least at a basic level. Someone who cares. That is my definition of a good neighbour. In that sense, A World of Neighbours has a realistic vision. It is not naïve, it is not romantic.

Last June a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society  (HIAS) and the Church of Sweden (CoS).

HIAS then became the first non-Christian faith-based organization to join the Church in its support of A World of Neighbours practitioners network. Under the agreement, HIAS will work to engage Jewish communities across Europe to join this network and support refugees and their local integration.

Now the Archbishop Antje Jackelén hopes to see the network continue to grow and work strategically to contribute to a welcoming and inclusive society:

– I hope organizations like Religions for Peace will get to know about A World of Neighbours and lift the experiences and methods of this network to a new level, so that is grows, shapes and reshapes things in Sweden and far beyond.