27.02.2024

Intercultural Church: (Im-) Possible Dream?

Adelia Putri (left) and Daniel Njikeu (2nd from right)during a small group discussion: The Winter School thrives by the knowledge of its participants. Photo by: Claudia Währisch-Oblau, UEM

“I was really touched by one point of view: Tolerance of Ambiguity. Now I think about that in the contexts of my family, my church and my parish.” Anna Ngengap Epse Tafa sums up her impression after the first days of UEM’s Winter School.

Worldwide, societies are becoming more diverse. Particularly in urban areas, people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds live next to each other. This is a challenge for many Protestant churches which tend to be monocultural in their set-up and self-under-standing.

UEM’s Winter School 2024 in Kandy, Sri Lanka, aimed at finding out how they can incorporate the diversity of the settings they find themselves in. The 31 participants would live and learn in an intercultural and interreligious environment for two weeks, observing examples set by others and develop their own projects in their home countries.

For participant Anna Ngengap Epse Tafa, the topic of migration was a particularly important one, giving her a lot to think and share with her home church. Faraja Mwakapeje points to the lasting effect of the Winter School: “In intercultural work or intercultural understanding, we always have to learn. It’s not only a short time learning, but it is continuous learning: Every day, every day you have to learn!”