Preface
Anne-Marie Kool
Welcome to Central and Eastern Europe! For many involved in missiological reflection, “Eastern Europe” — as it was referred to until recently — has been a white spot on the map. The truth is that the last two decennia many new initiatives were taken, also in the area of missions, keeping those involved too busy to publish. After a preparatory time of three years, the XII IAMS General Assembly in Balatonfüred gave the last impetus to the birth of a new journal: Acta Missiologiae. We are very grateful for the perseverance of Scott Klingsmith, the coordinating editor of the new journal, to collect and edit the colourful contributions from Central and Eastern Europe.
Since the middle of the 1990s several smaller platforms for theological and missiological reflection were formed. One of them was the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies, established in 1995. One of the pioneers was Ferenc Szűcs, who in 2006 — in the meantime appointed as Rector — took the initiative to create a new framework in the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary (KRE) under the name Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies (CIMS).
A few years earlier, in 2002 a new network was created to link these various initatives: the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies, one of the regional associations of the International Association for Mission studies (www.missionstudies.org).
CIMS
The Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies (CIMS) is the missiological center of the Károli Gáspár University in the Reformed Church in Hungary. As for any city built on a river its bridges are vital for the infrastructure as they allow for the easy flow of traffic. The mighty Danube is a formidable obstacle for the city of Budapest but the many bridges allow the two parts of the city to engage with each other. In the same way CIMS seeks to serve as a bridge between East and West, between reflection on the situation of Church and Mission in what was called till recently Eastern Europe and Western Europe. It also endeavors to bridge the gap between the historic churches and the free churches. Not in the last place it focuses on bridging the gap between lay people in the church and pastors: in this sense the unique embedding in the University with a link both to the Humanities department and the Theological Department opens new doors for this venture. The Churches in Hungary and in Central and Eastern Europe seek active involvement in mission outreach, together with numerous local and international mission societies. Bridging the theoretical reflection on and the practical involvement in the mission enterprise is a challenge which the Institute faces. Since there are still significant gaps between the various ethnic groups in Hungarian and Central and European societies like the Roma, the Chinese, Koreans, Africans etc., the cross-cultural and intercultural dimension of the mission is emphasized in the various programs offered. In view of the shift in the ecclesiastical centre of gravity from the Western to the non-Western world and the related climate changes in the world church, this bridge-building effort is increasingly extended from East to South.
The academic reflection on the missionary practice of Church and mission and of mission related issues in today’s society is never an aim in itself. It should lead to a mutual learning experience, a mutually sharing of experiences and resources from all involved based a thorough study of the biblical foundations and a critical analysis of the history of the mission of the Church, and of the contemporary context. Therefore the final aim of CIMS is to support, strengthen and equip the local Church to grow into open, welcoming, witnessing communities of Jesus Christ in today’s world. The scope of the Institute — in many respects a continuation of the in 1995 established Protestant Institute for Mission Studies — is therefore contextual, taking its own Reformed and Lutheran Hungarian heritage seriously, encouraging a critical reflection on its own mission history and contemporary experience in the light of worldwide mission experience and missiological reflection. At the same time it fulfils a window-opening function to the church and academia, in ever widening concentric circles ready to share the lessons learned in its own context with others, and open to learning from others, from those coming from different ethnic or Church backgrounds. More on CIMS at www.kre.hu.
CEEAMS
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies was inaugurated in 2002 on the initiative of those in a leadership position at chairs in missiology in Central and Eastern Europe, or Mission Institutes. Over the last few years missiologists from Central and Eastern Europe met at various conferences. At these meetings we realized that we all face more or less the same struggles in formulating and addressing the missiological issues of our "post-communist" contexts and in introducing a new discipline in the theological curriculum: missiology. It also became clear that we hardly knew of what each of us was doing in the area of research, teaching and publications.
Since this – pioneering – situation in Central and Eastern Europe differs so much from countries in e.g. Western Europe where missiology has been well established for many years, the need was increasingly felt to establish a special Central and Eastern European international and interdenominational platform to serve and coordinate the small initiatives in this field, linked internationally to the International Association of Mission Studies.
The growing significance of the region’s contribution to wider missiological research and discussion is evidenced by the involvement of a number of CEEAMS members in confessional and inter-confessional processes, specifically the European Mission Research Project of the Conference of European Churches, the Leuenberg Fellowship, the International Association of Catholic Missiologists, the Commission for Ecumenical Theological Education of the World Council of Churches, the Council for East European Theological Education, and key Orthodox mission programmes, including a soon to be published biography of Orthodox missionaries.
The aims of CEAMS are similar to those of IAMS:
– To promote the scholarly study of theological, historical and practical questions relating to mission in Central and Eastern Europe
– To disseminate information concerning mission among all those engaged in such studies and among the general public;
– To relate studies in mission to studies in theological and other disciplines
– To promote fellowship, cooperation and mutual assistance in mission studies
– To organize international conferences of missiologists
– To encourage the creation of centres of research
– And to stimulate publications in missiology
To reach those aims the following plans will be pursued:
– To organize annual conferences
– To establish a missiological journal for CEE
– To launch study projects like the IAMS one: "Rescuing the memories of our people".
Membership of the CEEAMS is open to those active in research into or in the practice of Christian mission and to institutions active in this field. A moderate membership fee was established.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Acta Missiologiae Introduction
Introduction
Scott Klingsmith
Welcome to the premiere issue of “Acta Missiologiae: The Journal for Reflection on Missiological Issues and Mission Practice in Central and Eastern Europe”. Acta Missiologiae is the journal of CIMS in close cooperation with CEEAMS. That’s a lot of letters to describe who we are! As basic information, CIMS is the Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Budapest, Hungary and CEEAMS is the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies. Anne-Marie Kool will introduce those two organizations to us in the following article.
Our name is Acta Missiologiae. This is intended to carry meaning on multiple levels. On the one hand it refers to acts or proceedings of missiology, or missiological acta, documents. Some of the articles we offer here are documents intended to expose us to the results of consultations, conferences, symposia, and other gatherings where missiological topics are discussed. On the other hand, the word acta has a reflection and action element. We want to encourage the thinking and praxis of reflective practioners. Academic research is sterile if it does not ultimately help us to fulfill the mandate given by our Lord to be a blessing to the nations of the world.
These two aspects find expression then in our mission statement:
Acta Missiologiae exists to provide a meeting place for reflection on missiological issues and mission practice in Central and Eastern Europe.
Missiology is a very young discipline in Central and Eastern Europe and there are currently very few practicing missiologists. You will notice that we tend to quote each other quite a bit. Our goal with this first issue is to give a sense of what the discipline of missiology in the region is like. Historians, biblical scholars, practicing missionaries, ethnographers, theologians, educators and scholars in related fields are all interacting with missiological issues.
This shows clearly in our collection of articles in this issue. Several themes show up consistently, such as questions of missionary spirituality, reconciliation, current trends and historical overviews. The CEEAMS conference focusing on Reconciliation and Mission, held in Papa, Hungary in 2007, forms the basis for this issue. Four of the nine articles were presented either there or at an earlier CEEAMS conference.
Our first two authors take a look back at the past almost twenty years since the revolutions that led to the fall of communism. Walter Sawatsky analyses the development of conversations and dialog on mission between Orthodox and evangelical church leaders. Peter Penner looks at the impact of Western missionaries on church and mission life in the region, both before and after 1989. Tamás Kodácsy describes his university’s attempt to be intentionally Christian and missional through the offer of interdisciplinary courses. Two authors are working to develop new aspects of a theology of mission – Wojciech Kowalewski for a contextual missiology for Poland, and Tamás Czövek using creation as the innovative basis of a mission theology. Next Peter Zvagulis helps us to understand hate speech and offers us some tools to overcome its effects. John White reminds us that actions without the proper motivation are useless and shows how the Apostle Paul models a missionary spirituality that we should emulate. Anne-Marie Kool takes up this topic and others as she describes some of the trends and challenges that churches face in developing a missional mindset. Finally, I attempt to show how and why some churches in Central and Eastern Europe have begun to send out cross-cultural missionaries.
Our authors are all interested in your feedback. If you are interested in interacting with them further you can contact them personally or through me. These articles are meant to be the start of a conversation, not the final word on the subject. Here is the space for the conversation to continue.
Since missiology is a young discipline it is also still in the process of finding a voice and a style. For this first issue we have not attempted to homogenize styles or formats. Some of our authors have used a humanities oriented style (with footnotes and bibliography), while other have used a social science approach (with Name/Date and Reference list). We will be developing a more uniform style in the future, but for now this gives a sense of the diversity. We’ve also left it (for now) to the individual authors whether they use UK or US English spellings. At some point we’ll reach for uniformity here as well.
The launch of Acta Missiologiae coincides with the International Association for Mission Studies Conference in Balatonfüred, Hungary. We trust that conference will be a fruitful time of listening, learning and interacting with other missiologists and others interested in mission. We hope you’ll be challenged in your own thinking and we encourage you to develop that thinking in writing.
To that end I would like to invite you to submit an article. If you have been working on a paper or article on some missiological subject related to Central or Eastern Europe, and you would like to expose your thinking to a wider audience, please send me a copy. Perhaps this can be the impetus to get your PhD or Masters thesis condensed into a form that can be actually read by more than just your mentors. Other general topics could include some aspect of mission history in or from the region, missiological reflection on changes in life and ministry since the fall of Communism, development of missional church thinking in the region, issues related to theology of mission, ministry among minorities or immigrants, impact and implications of post-modernism in a post-Communist Europe, etc. Papers should be between 15 and 30 pages. If you have something shorter or longer than that, we can discuss the matter further.
We are also interested in book reviews of significant books you are reading. If you’ve read something recently that you think others should know about, please let me know of this also, including whether you are willing to write a review. Books in languages other than English are also welcome.
If you have something ready or in process that you would like to be considered, please send me an email, either with a final copy of the article attached or a précis of what you are working on. We intend to publish at least once a year, and if we have enough contributions it could be more often. Our goal is that each article be peer-reviewed, and we’re working toward that end.
Finally, I wish you a profitable time as you read and interact with our authors. Let us hear from you how we can make Acta Missiologiae a more useful meeting place for reflection and conversation on missiological matter in our region.
Scott Klingsmith, Ph.D.
Editor, Acta Missiologiae
scklingsmith@gmail.com
Scott Klingsmith
Welcome to the premiere issue of “Acta Missiologiae: The Journal for Reflection on Missiological Issues and Mission Practice in Central and Eastern Europe”. Acta Missiologiae is the journal of CIMS in close cooperation with CEEAMS. That’s a lot of letters to describe who we are! As basic information, CIMS is the Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Budapest, Hungary and CEEAMS is the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies. Anne-Marie Kool will introduce those two organizations to us in the following article.
Our name is Acta Missiologiae. This is intended to carry meaning on multiple levels. On the one hand it refers to acts or proceedings of missiology, or missiological acta, documents. Some of the articles we offer here are documents intended to expose us to the results of consultations, conferences, symposia, and other gatherings where missiological topics are discussed. On the other hand, the word acta has a reflection and action element. We want to encourage the thinking and praxis of reflective practioners. Academic research is sterile if it does not ultimately help us to fulfill the mandate given by our Lord to be a blessing to the nations of the world.
These two aspects find expression then in our mission statement:
Acta Missiologiae exists to provide a meeting place for reflection on missiological issues and mission practice in Central and Eastern Europe.
Missiology is a very young discipline in Central and Eastern Europe and there are currently very few practicing missiologists. You will notice that we tend to quote each other quite a bit. Our goal with this first issue is to give a sense of what the discipline of missiology in the region is like. Historians, biblical scholars, practicing missionaries, ethnographers, theologians, educators and scholars in related fields are all interacting with missiological issues.
This shows clearly in our collection of articles in this issue. Several themes show up consistently, such as questions of missionary spirituality, reconciliation, current trends and historical overviews. The CEEAMS conference focusing on Reconciliation and Mission, held in Papa, Hungary in 2007, forms the basis for this issue. Four of the nine articles were presented either there or at an earlier CEEAMS conference.
Our first two authors take a look back at the past almost twenty years since the revolutions that led to the fall of communism. Walter Sawatsky analyses the development of conversations and dialog on mission between Orthodox and evangelical church leaders. Peter Penner looks at the impact of Western missionaries on church and mission life in the region, both before and after 1989. Tamás Kodácsy describes his university’s attempt to be intentionally Christian and missional through the offer of interdisciplinary courses. Two authors are working to develop new aspects of a theology of mission – Wojciech Kowalewski for a contextual missiology for Poland, and Tamás Czövek using creation as the innovative basis of a mission theology. Next Peter Zvagulis helps us to understand hate speech and offers us some tools to overcome its effects. John White reminds us that actions without the proper motivation are useless and shows how the Apostle Paul models a missionary spirituality that we should emulate. Anne-Marie Kool takes up this topic and others as she describes some of the trends and challenges that churches face in developing a missional mindset. Finally, I attempt to show how and why some churches in Central and Eastern Europe have begun to send out cross-cultural missionaries.
Our authors are all interested in your feedback. If you are interested in interacting with them further you can contact them personally or through me. These articles are meant to be the start of a conversation, not the final word on the subject. Here is the space for the conversation to continue.
Since missiology is a young discipline it is also still in the process of finding a voice and a style. For this first issue we have not attempted to homogenize styles or formats. Some of our authors have used a humanities oriented style (with footnotes and bibliography), while other have used a social science approach (with Name/Date and Reference list). We will be developing a more uniform style in the future, but for now this gives a sense of the diversity. We’ve also left it (for now) to the individual authors whether they use UK or US English spellings. At some point we’ll reach for uniformity here as well.
The launch of Acta Missiologiae coincides with the International Association for Mission Studies Conference in Balatonfüred, Hungary. We trust that conference will be a fruitful time of listening, learning and interacting with other missiologists and others interested in mission. We hope you’ll be challenged in your own thinking and we encourage you to develop that thinking in writing.
To that end I would like to invite you to submit an article. If you have been working on a paper or article on some missiological subject related to Central or Eastern Europe, and you would like to expose your thinking to a wider audience, please send me a copy. Perhaps this can be the impetus to get your PhD or Masters thesis condensed into a form that can be actually read by more than just your mentors. Other general topics could include some aspect of mission history in or from the region, missiological reflection on changes in life and ministry since the fall of Communism, development of missional church thinking in the region, issues related to theology of mission, ministry among minorities or immigrants, impact and implications of post-modernism in a post-Communist Europe, etc. Papers should be between 15 and 30 pages. If you have something shorter or longer than that, we can discuss the matter further.
We are also interested in book reviews of significant books you are reading. If you’ve read something recently that you think others should know about, please let me know of this also, including whether you are willing to write a review. Books in languages other than English are also welcome.
If you have something ready or in process that you would like to be considered, please send me an email, either with a final copy of the article attached or a précis of what you are working on. We intend to publish at least once a year, and if we have enough contributions it could be more often. Our goal is that each article be peer-reviewed, and we’re working toward that end.
Finally, I wish you a profitable time as you read and interact with our authors. Let us hear from you how we can make Acta Missiologiae a more useful meeting place for reflection and conversation on missiological matter in our region.
Scott Klingsmith, Ph.D.
Editor, Acta Missiologiae
scklingsmith@gmail.com
CEEAMS Meeting Balatonfüred
CEEAMS Meeting 21/08/2008 16:30-18.00
At Balatonfüred, Hungary
A meeting was set a year ago in Papa to continue discussing the issues of CEEAMS. This meeting in Balatonfüred became possible because of the IAMS meeting that offered space and possibilities for participants from primarily Central and Eastern Europe to meet. 25 persons are present at that meeting, led by Peter Penner and Anne-Marie Kool (members of the steering committee of CEEAMS). Laszlo Gonda is also present as part of the CEEAMS steering committee. All other members were for various reasons absent.
Peter Penner was primarily leading the meeting supported by the two other CEEAMS steering committee members. Following issues were worked on during that meeting.
1. General report and introduction to the work of CEEAMS
• CEEAMS was initiated 2002 by a small group of missiologians
• Two major conferences were held in the past: Budapest and Papa
• Present meeting of CEEAMS at IAMS points to a clear relation between the two and with IAMS in Central Europe, we had a privilege to point to the special situation in this region.
• CEEAMS is still on the way from a movement to an organization. This meeting should be another step toward a formation of CEEAMS
• Some aspects of history of CEEAMS were discussed and names related to CEEAMS listed.
2. Issue of formal membership of CEEAMS
• In the past meetings, there was no clear membership definition and this was now discussed and agreed.
a. Members can be those who have an earned doctorate or are in the process to earn their PhD/ThD, as well as reflective practioners.
b. Members are from the region of Central and Eastern Europe or are interested in the region.
c. It was agreed that 10 Euro will be the yearly membership fee for students and for those from CEE applying for a reduced rate. Otherwise the membership fee is 20 EURO. Every member will receive CEEMS journal publication for free: ACTA MISSIOLOGIAE
• It was agreed unanimously by all participants that Vija Esenberga would act as Secretary of IAMS, develop a membership list and collect the 10 Euros
• A number of people who have not been in the past part of CEEAMS became members of CEEAMS.
3. Voting on the new and past members of the steering committee.
• CEEAMS has been in the past year a fluid body with a constantly changing group. A few of the original steering committee were present and involved in the past in all meetings and only three were able to come to IAMS.
• It was proposed and agreed that this meeting would be a new start but building at least partly on the past to keep the continuity.
• It was proposed and agreed that some members from the past steering committee may remain in the committee but only for two years and that some new members would be elected for the period of 4 years. This way there would be a guarantee of continuity as well as some new impulses keeping the group vivid, keeping the tension between change and continuity.
• The previous model on the steering committee was discussed and agreed that between the chair and the two vice chairs one would be Orthodox, one Catholic and one Protestant. It was also agreed that responsibilities such as Secretary, Treasurer and Publishing/Editorial would be duties inside of the steering committee.
• From the previous group, the following persons were suggested and agreed. The previous members had offered during the meeting to leave the place so that a discussion could be open on new members. The whole group agreed to keep those 4 previous members for 2 years to maintain continuity. In 2010 at the European IAMS meeting those four members can be replaced or again voted into the position.
o Anne-Marie Kool
o Laszlo Gonda
o Scott Klingsmith
o Peter Penner
• The following new members have been proposed and affirmed by the group for 4 years:
o Gheorghe Petraru
o Grzegorz Wita
o Vija Esenberga
o Olga Zaprometova
• The steering committee comprises the following persons with their respective responsibilities:
o Anne-Marie Kool (chair [Reformed])
o Gheorghe Petraru (vice-chair [Orthodox])
o Grzegorz Wita (vice-chair) [Catholic]
o Vija Esenberga (secretary)
o Laszlo Gonda
o Scott Klingsmith (Publication/Editorial)
o Olga Zaprometova
o Peter Penner (treasurer)
• All colleagues who previously were members of the steering committee were asked to continue helping within CEEAMS, as there is a lot of work to be done:
o Acta Missiologiae: Wojtek Kowalewski and Vladimir Kozhuharov offered to be part of the editorial team, assisting Scott Klingsmith in editing and publishing. Abraham Kovacs was proposed also to be part of the editorial group, to develop the book review part of the journal. Vladimir Fedorov and Jan Gorski were also asked to help in different areas of publication, public relation and developing the theme of dialogue in Central and Eastern Europe.
o CEEAMS DABOH group was organized by:
Danut Manastireanu
Corneliu Constantineanu
Walter Sawatsky
Others interested to participate
o CEEAMS Website: It was agreed that a homepage for CEEAMS is needed that would be constantly updated. Different people showed interest in working and developing the presently existing homepage of CEEAMS. Apart from Abraham Kovacs Vija Esenberga as CEEAMS secretary will work on this committee, others are welcome to participate as well.
o Special interest groups. Other groups were in the process of development and there was a lot of enthusiasm of involvement, participation and new projects that needs to be picked up at the next CEEAMS meeting. One example is that of Roma issues.
4. Conferences in the next two years
• It was agreed that the next CEEAMS conference should be in Kishinev, Moldova. The proposed and agreed conference time is 3rd-6th of June 2009. For the planning, following people were agreed:
o Mihai Malancea (Moldova, Baptist)
o Levente Horváth (Cluj, Reformed)
o Gregorz Wita (Poland, Roman Catholic)
o Peter Penner (Czech Republic, Mennonite)
o Other names???
• For the conference, different topics were suggested in a session of brainstorming to be picked up by the planning team of the conference in Kishinev among which are:
o Our role in Edinburgh 2010
o Mission vs Proselytism
o Dialogue between different churches / Islam
o European Union
o Church in mission after communism
o Renewal of Churches
o Mission as liturgy
o Etc.
• A conference in our region has been agreed by the European members of IAMS to be held in Iasi, what was very much supported by CEEAMS, to strengthen this way the role of the Orthodox Church.
o In some way this is a conference after Edinburgh 2010
o The dates are set for the 18th to the 21st of August 2010
• A coordinating team has been discussed and among the members of this team, the following people were named:
o Gheorghe Petraru
o Anne Marie Kool
o Gregorz Wita
o Mika Vähäkangas
o László Németh, RC, Serbia
o Other names???
5. The meeting was closed with a jointly spoken Lord’s Prayer (each in their own language) and a prayer and blessing by Father Gheorghe Petraru.
Minutes taken by Gábor Czágány and Peter Penner
At Balatonfüred, Hungary
A meeting was set a year ago in Papa to continue discussing the issues of CEEAMS. This meeting in Balatonfüred became possible because of the IAMS meeting that offered space and possibilities for participants from primarily Central and Eastern Europe to meet. 25 persons are present at that meeting, led by Peter Penner and Anne-Marie Kool (members of the steering committee of CEEAMS). Laszlo Gonda is also present as part of the CEEAMS steering committee. All other members were for various reasons absent.
Peter Penner was primarily leading the meeting supported by the two other CEEAMS steering committee members. Following issues were worked on during that meeting.
1. General report and introduction to the work of CEEAMS
• CEEAMS was initiated 2002 by a small group of missiologians
• Two major conferences were held in the past: Budapest and Papa
• Present meeting of CEEAMS at IAMS points to a clear relation between the two and with IAMS in Central Europe, we had a privilege to point to the special situation in this region.
• CEEAMS is still on the way from a movement to an organization. This meeting should be another step toward a formation of CEEAMS
• Some aspects of history of CEEAMS were discussed and names related to CEEAMS listed.
2. Issue of formal membership of CEEAMS
• In the past meetings, there was no clear membership definition and this was now discussed and agreed.
a. Members can be those who have an earned doctorate or are in the process to earn their PhD/ThD, as well as reflective practioners.
b. Members are from the region of Central and Eastern Europe or are interested in the region.
c. It was agreed that 10 Euro will be the yearly membership fee for students and for those from CEE applying for a reduced rate. Otherwise the membership fee is 20 EURO. Every member will receive CEEMS journal publication for free: ACTA MISSIOLOGIAE
• It was agreed unanimously by all participants that Vija Esenberga would act as Secretary of IAMS, develop a membership list and collect the 10 Euros
• A number of people who have not been in the past part of CEEAMS became members of CEEAMS.
3. Voting on the new and past members of the steering committee.
• CEEAMS has been in the past year a fluid body with a constantly changing group. A few of the original steering committee were present and involved in the past in all meetings and only three were able to come to IAMS.
• It was proposed and agreed that this meeting would be a new start but building at least partly on the past to keep the continuity.
• It was proposed and agreed that some members from the past steering committee may remain in the committee but only for two years and that some new members would be elected for the period of 4 years. This way there would be a guarantee of continuity as well as some new impulses keeping the group vivid, keeping the tension between change and continuity.
• The previous model on the steering committee was discussed and agreed that between the chair and the two vice chairs one would be Orthodox, one Catholic and one Protestant. It was also agreed that responsibilities such as Secretary, Treasurer and Publishing/Editorial would be duties inside of the steering committee.
• From the previous group, the following persons were suggested and agreed. The previous members had offered during the meeting to leave the place so that a discussion could be open on new members. The whole group agreed to keep those 4 previous members for 2 years to maintain continuity. In 2010 at the European IAMS meeting those four members can be replaced or again voted into the position.
o Anne-Marie Kool
o Laszlo Gonda
o Scott Klingsmith
o Peter Penner
• The following new members have been proposed and affirmed by the group for 4 years:
o Gheorghe Petraru
o Grzegorz Wita
o Vija Esenberga
o Olga Zaprometova
• The steering committee comprises the following persons with their respective responsibilities:
o Anne-Marie Kool (chair [Reformed])
o Gheorghe Petraru (vice-chair [Orthodox])
o Grzegorz Wita (vice-chair) [Catholic]
o Vija Esenberga (secretary)
o Laszlo Gonda
o Scott Klingsmith (Publication/Editorial)
o Olga Zaprometova
o Peter Penner (treasurer)
• All colleagues who previously were members of the steering committee were asked to continue helping within CEEAMS, as there is a lot of work to be done:
o Acta Missiologiae: Wojtek Kowalewski and Vladimir Kozhuharov offered to be part of the editorial team, assisting Scott Klingsmith in editing and publishing. Abraham Kovacs was proposed also to be part of the editorial group, to develop the book review part of the journal. Vladimir Fedorov and Jan Gorski were also asked to help in different areas of publication, public relation and developing the theme of dialogue in Central and Eastern Europe.
o CEEAMS DABOH group was organized by:
Danut Manastireanu
Corneliu Constantineanu
Walter Sawatsky
Others interested to participate
o CEEAMS Website: It was agreed that a homepage for CEEAMS is needed that would be constantly updated. Different people showed interest in working and developing the presently existing homepage of CEEAMS. Apart from Abraham Kovacs Vija Esenberga as CEEAMS secretary will work on this committee, others are welcome to participate as well.
o Special interest groups. Other groups were in the process of development and there was a lot of enthusiasm of involvement, participation and new projects that needs to be picked up at the next CEEAMS meeting. One example is that of Roma issues.
4. Conferences in the next two years
• It was agreed that the next CEEAMS conference should be in Kishinev, Moldova. The proposed and agreed conference time is 3rd-6th of June 2009. For the planning, following people were agreed:
o Mihai Malancea (Moldova, Baptist)
o Levente Horváth (Cluj, Reformed)
o Gregorz Wita (Poland, Roman Catholic)
o Peter Penner (Czech Republic, Mennonite)
o Other names???
• For the conference, different topics were suggested in a session of brainstorming to be picked up by the planning team of the conference in Kishinev among which are:
o Our role in Edinburgh 2010
o Mission vs Proselytism
o Dialogue between different churches / Islam
o European Union
o Church in mission after communism
o Renewal of Churches
o Mission as liturgy
o Etc.
• A conference in our region has been agreed by the European members of IAMS to be held in Iasi, what was very much supported by CEEAMS, to strengthen this way the role of the Orthodox Church.
o In some way this is a conference after Edinburgh 2010
o The dates are set for the 18th to the 21st of August 2010
• A coordinating team has been discussed and among the members of this team, the following people were named:
o Gheorghe Petraru
o Anne Marie Kool
o Gregorz Wita
o Mika Vähäkangas
o László Németh, RC, Serbia
o Other names???
5. The meeting was closed with a jointly spoken Lord’s Prayer (each in their own language) and a prayer and blessing by Father Gheorghe Petraru.
Minutes taken by Gábor Czágány and Peter Penner
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