The praying mantis in the car park

The Fund for Mission in Europe has been established by the European Methodist Council. Its aim is to provide an opportunity for Methodist congregations all over Europe to learn from one another and to help one another. The Project List 2019 invites you to support faith-sharing and diaconal projects – from Estonia to Albania, from Russia to Portugal.
 
We had some wonderful days in Croatia – warm sunshine, really clear water in the sea, a lot of time to discover a whole new world. One day we went on an excursion to a nature park. The fascinating coast invited us to jump from one stone slab to another. The trees looked as if they had withstood many a storm, and then came open spaces with a superb panoramic view towards the sea, which sent wave after wave to the land. We had parked our car on a graveled car park. No sooner had we got out of the car, then we had a very special encounter: there was a praying mantis walking around on the car park. There was something strange about it: for the first time I was seeing one of these fascinating insects with its very distinctive appearance – in an ordinary car park, of all places. But it may be that this is a good symbol. In German, these insects are called «Gottesanbeterin», which means «Worshiper of God». Perhaps what our world needs most is not more people who go to church once a week to pray and then, during the rest of the week, think, speak and act as if they had never been in the church. Perhaps what is really needed is people who live their faith, hope, and love in everyday life. If they are worshipers of God, they will be worshipers in the car park.
 
There are many Methodists all over Europe who really live their faith not only on Sundays, but also on Mondays and the rest of the week. Their faith becomes tangible in everyday life. Their hope opens up new perspectives for other people. Their love is a force for good. The new brochure of the  Fund for Mission in Europe is an attempt to show something of the good that can be achieved under various differing circumstances. 
 
The Fund for Mission in Europe on the one hand sees itself as an invitation to you to be encouraged by people in other European countries to live faith, hope, and love in everyday life, with the gifts and possibilities at your disposal, and trusting that God will go with you on your way. 
 
But it is also true: the people reported about by the Fund for Mission in Europe need you! When you share what you have, you help to make it possible for faith, hope, and love to be lived in many places in Europe. And so we ask you please to give, or continue to give, your financial support to the work of the Fund for Mission in Europe. Through your donation you will become part of projects and programs where faith is lived in everyday life, and because of this, changes the world in some way. Thank you very much!
 
Source: Urs Schweizer, Manager of the Fund for Mission in Europe