CHURCH TWINNING

Living on an Island

Britain and Ireland are islands - "off-shore Europe", someone once said! We are geographically separate from mainland Europe and have not been aggressively invaded for a thousand years. But despite this, we have long been a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-faith society.

Thousands of foreign tourists flood into south-east England. Our motorways are full of lorries and cars from Eastern and Western Europe. Language schools abound. Foreign investors buy up British companies. We are a member-nation of the European Union, although at times a rather reluctant member.

The Channel Tunnel has changed the relationship between Great Britain and mainland Europe. The Channel has been our defence for thousands of years. Now it has been undermined! So while we are in a sense no longer divided by the sea, we are still to some extent divided by fear - fear of the loss of our identity, our independence, our sovereignty - and afraid of being swallowed up by the European Union. Brussels is an easy target for politicians wishing to play the independency game.

This is the reason why I believe that twinning has a crucial part to play in enabling we British to better understand both ourselves and our Continental neighbours. We need to change our British cultural perceptions, our mind-set, and to reduce our over-active sense of independence and isolation. We need to develop a greater sense of involvement, engagement, of actual responsibility in relation to our Continental as well as our global neighbours.

Some Historical milestones

Although there were several towns and churches with links across the Channel in the early 1900s, organised Twinning came into being in the course of trying to re-unify the nations of Europe after World War Two. So in order to develop a theological understanding of twinning, it is necessary first to recollect some recent history.

• 1945 saw the end of the Second World War, and in 1946 Winston Churchill called for "the establishment of a United States of Europe".

• The Organisation for European Economic Cooperation was set up in 1948 to distribute American aid to European countries - the Marshall Plan.

• Also in 1948 the European Movement convened a special meeting of leading politicians of the day in The Hague. It was this Hague Congress that set the uniting of European peoples and nations on the international agenda.

• In 1949 the Council of Europe was set up, and the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. Europe was divided in two, cutting Germany in half.

It is clear that in post-war Europe, the prime necessity was to re-establish the sense of community across the ravaged countries of the Continent. This was the starting point of the European Community, built on the vision of Jean Monnet, the French Planning Commissioner, and put in place by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman in the Schuman Declaration of May 9th 1950. This European Community would build a

"united and reconciled Europe in which war would be ruled out by economic and social co-operation."

The way towards this was by setting up three Communities:

The underlying idea was that this proposal

"would lay the first concrete foundations of the European federation which is indispensable to the preservation of peace."

The European Community was not only an economic union: it was essential for the national populations of Europe to be brought closer together as a social union - to begin to regard each other as friends instead of as enemies. Centuries of hate would have to give way to a new trust, rivalry to give way to co-operation. In the words of Jean Monnet,

"We are not creating coalitions between States, we are uniting people."
("Nous ne coalisons pas des Etats, nous unissons des hommes")

Citizens' Europe

The International Union of Local Authorities (I.U.L.A.), formed in 1913 in Brussels, is currently the largest worldwide organisation of local government. Its small World Secretariat is based in the Hague (Netherlands), and it has 7 regional sections across the world.
The Council of European Municipalities (C.E.M.R.), founded in January 1951 by fifty mayors, acts as I.U.L.A.'s European regional organisation. In the words of Andrea Vonz of C.E.M.R., at a conference in Leeds some years ago,

"they invented a new form of relationship between municipalities, and introduced
the idea of a Citizens' Europe".

Although Twinning had been undertaken for several decades before, this was the point at which Twinning became a movement.

Jean Bareth, one of the founders of C.E.M.R., has said that

"a Twinning is a relationship between two municipalities, both desiring to develop initiatives with a view to building a united Europe, to face problems together and to develop and strengthen friendship ties between one another.

C.E.M.R. places Twinning firmly in the political sphere, by emphasising the role of the Municipalities. But at the same time, Twinning is not solely in the hands of the Municipalities - we have heard too many stories of locally elected officials spending paid time on "booze cruises" (private trips with public money), thus damaging the whole concept of Twinning and indeed inhibiting the community from taking any part in the link. This is one reason why in recent years the term "civic Twinning" has given way to "Community Twinning".

Nowadays there are thousands of communities across Eastern and Western Europe which are linked to others in a variety of ways - friendship links, economic links, community twinnings. The benefits to the communities involved are enormous - this is beyond dispute. However, despite the number of twinnings across Europe, these links are often regarded by individuals concerned as independent local initiatives, primarily for the benefit of the particular communities involved.

Can Community Twinning have any influence AS A MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE on the national agenda of this community of nations? The answer is "Yes, it can" - but the profile of twinning, both community and church, has to be significantly raised.

TWINNING'S CHANGED EMPHASIS

From 1972 the Twinning movement came under the umbrella of the Joint Twinning Committee of the British Council, which placed Twinning firmly within the cultural and social arena. County Twinning organisations grew up, and there was a rapid increase in the number of twinnings and local twinning committees. The long term value of such twinnings is without doubt highly significant, and this can be judged by the average age of people who nowadays make up the committees for local twinnings. It is increasingly difficult to find people in their twenties or in younger middle age who are willing and able to take an active part in twinning committees. Perhaps more significant is the decline of many Twinnings and twinning activities simply because committee members, while retaining their enthusiasm, have simply run out of energy.

Times have changed and the last twenty years or so have seen some fundamental changes in the way people arrange their lives. We now have twenty-four hour news broadcasts; people take holidays in the warmer south of Europe or beyond; the events of 1989 and 1992, in the fall of communism and the opening up of the European market, have resulted in a far greater awareness of the rest of Europe, if only because we see so many cars and lorries from places we had previously only seen on maps. Gradually British people are becoming more used to being and thinking European.

In 1984 the Joint Twinning Committee came to the end of its work, and Twinning became the responsibility of the Local Government International Bureau, which itself is part of the Local Government Association. The whole emphasis of Twinning began to change, and dramatically so following 1989. The importance of the local municipality was enhanced, and the thrust of Twinning was directed at creating partnerships between local authority and local industry and commerce. The L.G.I.B. describes its aim thus:

With specific regard to town Twinning, the LGIB provides support primarily to local authorities. Although the LGIB exists to serve local authorities, in the matter of Twinning, LGIB also provides a 'limited' service to Twinning associations, primarily through newsletter publications and through a network of voluntary unpaid regional coordinators..."

However, it would be unfair to assume that the L.G.I.B. has no interest in the contribution of a local "first generation" twinning. The fact is that the L.G.I.B. is funded to promote a specific range of services geared to business and economic links; but the L.G.I.B. is also very aware of the value of the more diffuse social and cultural links that can be created through twinning. Ideally there should be a partnership between the local authority and the local twinning committee, but the financial constraints that have become such a marked feature of recent political life have severely affected the ability of a local authority to underwrite, or even to offer grants to, local twinning associations.

This changing emphasis is, sadly, having a detrimental effect on local Twinning associations. In many cases there had been a measure of support from the local authority. This might be actual financial support, or reduced fees for the hiring of council-owned rooms: there were many ways in which such support might be given. But now the situation is very different, with so many and varied targets being set by central government which local authorities have to reach.

The effect is that the local Twinning committee has some sharp choices: whether to continue its struggle to set plans and raise the money to achieve them, or to negotiate with the local authority for a new kind of relationship, or to give up the struggle and close down the Twinning.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHURCHES

When the churches of south-east Kent joined in the events marking the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel, the BBC broadcast a live "Songs of Praise" programme from the UK Exhibition Centre. We used a phrase in that service which has been used many times since: when we meet our Continental neighbours, we "celebrate our differences and rejoice in our similarities."

Twinning is, as Jean Bareth suggested (above), an opportunity for two municipalities - or, indeed, two churches - to act together within a European perspective, confronting problems and developing increasingly closer and friendlier ties between one another. This is about listening and hearing, about being sensitive to the other person's story, about learning what it is like to be in the other person's shoes. It is about asking "quality" questions - questions aimed at raising the quality of our understanding and appreciation. This is a real contribution that the churches can make - after all, churches are in the business of forming visions and looking forward in confidence! Experience suggests that many Twinning Associations would welcome such a contribution from the churches.

SOME THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are some important theological themes which impinge on Twinning.

A Theology of Community would be a good place to start. The word 'society' comes from the Latin word socius which means "companion", and a companion is someone with whom you "share bread". Community is the expression of such inter-dependence and responsibility one for another. The fundamental concept is of harmony and generosity, and respect for all in our common humanity. Twinning contributes to the very core of this, by creating opportunities for developing friendship and understanding between people and groups from different cultures, histories and traditions.

A Theology of Ecumenism : ecumenism has been changing and broadening over many years. A few decades ago it referred to the search for common ground between the different Christian churches, as they gradually began to move from hostility and suspicion of each other towards greater trust and cooperation. But it was still seen as a Christian journey, as an attempt for the Christian Churches to grow closer together in the spirit of the great unity prayer from the mouth of Jesus in St. John's gospel, chapter 17. Nowadays ecumenism is understood in much wider terms, referring to the whole household, the whole creation, of God, and in its widest sense would take us into the One World debate, and into a range of justice and peace issues. In a world which is so bitterly divided, the vision of a united and reconciled human family is tantalisingly intangible, but it must remain the goal to which we all are working. The vision of St Paul, that "God in all his fullness chose to dwell (in Christ), and through him to reconcile all things to himself.." (Col 1:19-20) - opens up for us the opportunity to share in the creative and recreative work of God. Twinning can offer a clear, positive and grass-roots contribution towards a world united, reconciled and at peace.

I have just used the word "reconciled". The Theology of Reconciliation is perhaps the central theme that should be related to the work of Twinning. But before reconciliation must first come forgiveness, and before forgiveness must first come an acknowledgement of whatever evils and wrongs have taken place. National guilt when acknowledged can take a great deal of time - maybe several generations - to work through into some more positive national self-image. It is easier to forgive others than either to forgive oneself or to accept that one has been forgiven; and this is true of a nation as it is of an individual.

However, forgiveness opens the way to reconciliation. As the theme of the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz in 1997 put it, reconciliation is the "gift of God and the source of new life". It demands much honesty and a generous spirit. Again, Twinning provides the opportunity for people of nations formerly hostile to each other to admit their sense of shame or guilt, to face their own prejudices and to help break down the barriers between them. What a witness this is to the reconciling power of love, which finds its source in the reconciling love of God.

The Greek work oikos offers a fascinating insight. It means "household", and is used in the New Testament to refer to the whole creation of God - everything that lives, moves and has being. The English words "economy", "ecology" and "ecumenism" all derive from this same root. The theological insight this gives us is that there is a concrete link between

At the foundation of this is God the Creator. God's "household" is entrusted to our care and stewardship, and we have been given the imagination and vision to order human affairs in ways which will enhance and sustain the planet. So we must devise ways by which we live in harmony with each other and with "nature", and by which we can trade and work together for the good of all.

INTER-CHURCH AGREEMENTS

At the International level, there have been several important Agreements over recent years:

• The Leuenberg Agreement of 1973 - between the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Europe

• The Meissen Agreement of 1988 - between the Church of England and the Evangelical (Protestant) church in (then) West and East Germany

• The Porvoo Agreement of 1993 - between the British and Irish Anglican church and the Baltic and Nordic Lutheran churches

• The Reuilly Declaration of 1999 - between the British and Irish Anglican church and the French Lutheran and Reformed Churches

• The Augsburg Common Declaration on Justification, 1999, between the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity

All but the last are stages in the process of Churches drawing closer together towards full acceptance of each other's ministry and sacraments. The last is an important advance on a subject which has caused division for centuries.

However, it is one thing to make Agreements at national level; it is much more difficult for people and churches at the grass roots to notice the difference, to appreciate the progress being made, to feel part of the process.

Church Twinning (and Community Twinning) happens at the grass-roots.

• Twinning is about visions for the future - in our case, the future of Europe;

• Twinning is about facing the difficulties and tensions that exist between communities;

• Twinning is about learning to accept others for who they are;

• Twinning is about learning to receive from others, rather than expecting always to give;

• Twinning is about the search for a genuine humanity;

• Twinning is about changing attitudes from suspicion to trust, and indeed changing attitudes to change itself.

Above all, it is the Peoples' Work, Citizens' Europe, individuals and communities at the grass roots.

Our European Context

So now, with some theological perceptions identified, we can look again at our European realities. Twinned communities and churches must recognise the European Context in which their links are developed:

• The Europe in which we live is deeply divided.

• The Berlin Wall, demolished between the two parts of Germany and Eastern and Western Europe, is being "re-erected" between many regions of the European states.

• Ethnic hostility and war are leading to separation and independence;

• Former communist dictatorships are being replaced with new forms of dictatorship - economic and ethnic.

• Aggressive Western industry and commerce have invaded the former communist states, stripped away the assets and created a new economic dependency in the name of Market Economics and Capitalism.

• The morale and vision of our Eastern European neighbours is being eroded, creating a vacuum which will be very hard to fill.

This is the desperate situation in which we Europeans - British Europeans, French Europeans, German Europeans, and so on - find ourselves, and which the leaders and parliaments of the European Union are struggling to resolve. In 1992 Jacques Delors said,

"If we fail, in the next ten years, to give Europe a soul, a spirituality, a meaning, we will lose the game."

This is the context in which Twinning has such a vital role to fulfil.

And this is also the context in which the Churches have their own distinctive role - so let's look at the present situation.

Currently there are more than twenty European countries in which communities in the U.K. have civic links, and the total number of these links is well over 1500.

• Community Twinning in Great Britain is co-ordinated to some extent by the Local Government International Bureau in London, whose Twinning Section acts as a sort of marriage broker between British and foreign communities seeking to establish a link. There is no such co-ordinating body for the Churches.

• It is common for Church bodies - dioceses, districts, parishes - to form links with corresponding bodies in another European country, usually those countries which border or are close to the English Channel or the North Sea (i.e. France, Germany and Holland). It is less common to find a Church link within a Community Twinning - i.e. both Community and Churches linking with the same foreign town.

• It is even less common to find the Churches working together, ecumenically, linking with a similar ecumenical grouping in the foreign town. There seems to be a feeling that Twinning is something personal that you keep to yourself.

• It is unusual to find twinned Churches which have set goals or even a programme for their exchange visits. It is also rare to find that the link is evaluated and assessed on a regular basis. Often, it seems, the link is maintained because it would be too embarrassing to stop it.

In other words, Church Twinning is largely uncoordinated and undervalued.

E.C.P. is trying to do something about this!

In 1995 at Assisi, the Revd. Prof. Waclaw Hrynewicz said,

"It would be tragic if the churches of Europe
fail to help lay the lasting foundations of a new Europe."

European Church Partnership

E.C.P. is actively promoting Church Twinning as a Tool for Mission. The aim of Twinning, whether Community or Church, is to deepen the friendship between the partner communities, to create a bond of trust and mutual respect between all those involved, and to enjoy and be stimulated by the experience.

But more than that -

Twinning is the means by which people from different countries, faiths, traditions, cultures, languages, values and histories can

• meet, learn, think and act together;

• create a Unity within such Diversity - celebrating our differences and rejoicing in our similarities.

• bring into the debate a clear theology of such words as "unity", "community", "reconciliation" and "inter-dependence".

• offer a critique of society as they find it, a critique born from daily involvement at the grass roots.

• begin to work out what Jacques Delors meant when he talked of giving Europe "a soul, a spirituality, a meaning."

The Churches, working together and with others, can themselves be a living witness to the power of God to transform discord into harmony, suspicion into acceptance, hatred into love.

Church Twinning, a dynamic international partnership in mission and ecumenism, must become - and be recognised as - an integral and vital part of the Churches' ministry in and to the world.

Robin Blount
February 2000