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With every step,
take time to love
Welcoming the day, the sunrise, like an always new today, in which God is planning to open with us new pathways of hope: daring to have faith when fear is all too close to overcoming us – that fear which we can see growing around us, fear of others who come from different backgrounds, cultures or religions – daring to reach out with solidarity, to forgive those who have hurt us, to listen to people’s sufferings, to encourage them again and again…
Walking with the God of hope… These words have guided our daily lives since our last two Councils and have helped us to go forward, to start out once again after being tempted of discouragement, after being caught up in a profound feeling of powerlessness in the face of events, near or far away, which are causing so much suffering and the death of so many innocent people.
For God, in spite of everything, never gives up hoping in human beings. God has faith in us and is always waiting to hear our answer. The face of God shows vulnerability in this world full of violence. In certain situations without issue in human sight, sometimes the question rises up in us: What do you expect of me? God does not expect anything extraordinary from us, just to walk humbly with our God, day by day, going from beginning to beginning, without letting ourselves be stopped by failures, by mistakes, by weaknesses and even by impossibilities which we find in ourselves and in others. We are invited to renounce holding back anything, and to give up the idea that things could happen, or could have or should have happened otherwise. All we can do is simply be there, in the present, consenting to everything as it is. We are to go forward with unfettered hearts, in our poverty, to receive the meaning of our existence in being open to the Other and to others, to all creation. Come and follow me. Go forward into deep water.
Going forward together, reaching towards the Kingdom which is coming, where God will be our all in all. What does God expect of us, if it is not to welcome the gift of communion which is always offered to us? What is a life in common if it does not teach us to live in relationship, to give ourselves, to love simply, often in little ways, as we follow Christ? There is nothing brilliant about this kind of giving. A community is not always a haven of peace. So many different sensitivities come together, so many different temperaments bump against each other, perhaps more strongly there than elsewhere because no escaping is possible. What would become of us without forgiveness, which keeps us open to newness of life? Forgiveness shines through a sparking ray from that love which carries throuhgout our lives. Going forward, “from beginning to beginning, through never-ending beginnings”, as Gregory of Nyssa says, because there is Another who has faith in us. I saw you there, says Jesus to Nathaniel. Jesus sees with an infinite kindness which gives life, which welcomes us as we truly are, which invites us to renew, at every moment, the way we see the other person as he is or as she is, in his or her difference from ourselves, in his or her beauty, greatness, weakness, and process of becoming… with the eyes of hope.
Going forward together, receiving ourselves from the Other, and at every stage, in every age, opening ourselves to newness of life. Each generation is a gift to the others, to the whole community, and sometimes we have to learn that lesson in painful ways. Life remains this walking forward, to the end, to that ultimate beginning where we enter into God’s eternity, as did our sisters Anne-Marie and Philomena, just a few days apart last August. What grace it was for us to be almost all present to accompany them in this great transition – what strength it gave to our community meetings held therefore in the light of the communion of saints in heaven and on earth.
Going forward still… in remembrance of God’s works, God’s actions in history and in the life of our community. We walk in remembrance of those small beginnings which were present as seeds fifty years ago in the going forth of some sisters to German-speaking Switzerland – the opening of our house at Sonnenhof – and of others to Algeria. God has been faithful to us all through the years, constantly present with us through the hardships of the journey, strengthening our faith. It is our task to retranslate the call of Christ for the world of today, always listening anew to the Gospel, and going forward. “Love cannot do anything but go forward,” Brother François told us during our Council retreat – because Christ goes before us, calls us, and opens to us the way of the Beatitudes. “Go forth, you poor in heart…” May we do it with the same enthusiasm St Anthony did in saying:
Very early in the life of the Community the sisters heard the call to enlarge the site of their tent, and thus responded courageously by going forth to live their vocation of prayer, being present to God and present to the world, in different places.
“For who has despised the day of small things ? For they shall rejoice…”
Zacharie 4:10
Sonnenhof
In the spring of 1954, sisters Marie-Madeleine and Anne-Béatrice, two French-speaking Swiss sisters, left Grandchamp to open the house Sonnenhof, in German-speaking Switzerland, in the countryside near Basel.
“50 years… Numerous friends, some of whom came from far away, pastors, guests, our neighbours, government leaders… replied to our invitation for the 6th of June on Trinity Sunday, to join in our prayers of thanksgiving for God’s enduring faithfulness and for all the ties we have formed in this region – and far beyond, with a special openness towards the north and the east. An awning set up between the two houses provided a covered space, an outdoor chapel where we could celebrate the Eucharist.
Pastor Georg Vischer, who has led many retreats at Sonnenhof, chose the Gospel of Ascension (Matthew 28:16–20) for his sermon, concluding by leaving with us the words of Jesus’ promise to be with us to the end of the age: ‘What does this word of Scripture mean for the vocation of Sonnenhof? Everything begins with listening. Sonnenhof is a place where people come seeking silence, so that they can listen. When our words and thoughts quiet down, we become able to listen to God’s word. Our worship flows from this listening. We try to respond to the beauty of God’s word with the beauty of our prayer and praise. The main thing finally is to persevere in keeping the word of God and putting it into practice, and to share with others this gift which we have received. It is not our possession, but rather a gift to all peoples.’
The celebration continued a week later with an ecumenical worship service to which the three village churches (Reformed, Catholic and Methodist) were invited. Many of the parishioners were delighted to get acquainted with our house: ‘We often hear your bell, but it’s much nicer actually to be here with you!’
Yes, this anniversary deepened and strengthened our ties with the church, the village parish churches, and with so many other people. And we go forward on our way, still listening and being open to what God expects of us, what God wants to do with this house, in the conviction that God is with us always, to the end of the age.”
Algiers
Next to go forth, still in 1954, were sisters Marguerite and Philomena, to Algiers. Since then, our sisters have lived in Algeria essentially as a hidden presence among the poor, whose faithful friendship amazes us. Sisters Renée and Anne-Geneviève are still living there.
“For over 20 years we have been part of an encounter group between Christian and Muslim believers, the Ribat-es-salaam or ‘bond of peace’ (Ephesians 4:2), which helps each of us to live the truth of her or his own faith in openness to the other who is different. We meet twice a year, but in between times we have a common theme, chosen from one or the other tradition, which we carry within us and which keeps us in unity with one another. We are seekers together, seeking God, joyfully discovering the Holy Spirit present in each of us, and growing up towards God in respect for one another’s vocation. Our desire is to be equal partners in this search for God who has a covenant with each human being, and whose desire is that ties of peace and communion be formed among all persons.
Two points in our common Charter serve as constant reference points during the difficult times this country is undergoing:
- In these times of violence which affect all of us, let us enter into God’s attitude of tenderness and mercy, of presence with everyone who suffers.
- In our daily life, let us be openly on the side of love, of forgiveness, of communion in the face of hate, revenge and violence.
In Algeria, the church, as a ‘guest in the house of Islam’, seeks to be Christian rather than confessional, continuing to listen to the spiritual quests of many people, young and not so young, who are wondering what they believe and who are looking for new ways.
Thus we are witnesses every day in the lives of our neighbours, our friends, everyone – witnesses to this gift of God, welcoming them with humble hearts and the patient hope which God renews in us, the peace which lets everyone have life.”
Sister Renée and Sister Anne-Geneviève
Saint Elizabeth
In the course of the years that followed, other sisters went forth to different countries and milieux, for varying periods of time. Sister Jacoba went to live in Israel in 1957. Since 1973 there have been sisters living on the site of Saint Elizabeth’s tomb near Jerusalem, a very meaningful place for our calling of prayer and reconciliation.
“In the violent situation of the Middle East, so confused and dehumanising, where the wall of hate is being raised a little further every day, how shall we respond to God’s hope?
– By simply being there, trying to live in forgiveness and reconciliation among ourselves and with other persons. By not allowing ourselves to be paralysed by powerlessness or resignation. By making a new beginning each day, clinging to every little sign of hope, and there are many!
‘Never stay still where you are, run in Christ’s footsteps, his trail is a path of light.’ (Rule of Taizé)
We have this great privilege of daily worship which gathers us and unites us around God’s word in praise and intercessory prayer, where we can come before God with our hands empty and open wide, entrusting to God all this suffering and crying, everything we see, hear and feel. We can look at Jesus who was pierced through, believe in his victory over evil and put our trust in the Spirit, the Holy Comforter. Simply being there means:
- being an empathetic ear for those we meet, letting them express their distress and discouragement;
- having an open heart towards the Israeli doctor who spends Sabbath after Sabbath going with an Israeli-Palestinian team to care for the Palestinians trapped in their villages around Ramallah;
- standing with our friends who courageously participate, week after week, in Check Point Watch; givingan open ear to the experiences, the suffering and sometimes discouragement which they have to share, and to their questions;
- supporting the work of the Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation at Bethlehem, and its director who has set up an entire programme of education for non-violence;
- accompanying a rabbi (from ‘Rabbis for Human Rights’) to a Bedouin camp which has been displaced many times, very poor and in a bad location where their herds can no longer graze. This rabbi is trying to set up a social and cultural centre especially for the women and children. Their dignity, their warm welcome, the joy of the children are deeply moving for us.
The miracle of shared friendship never goes only in one direction. It is always a giving and a receiving, and thus becomes a source of life and joy, the joy of the Beatitudes. It enables us to hope against all hope!”
At the end of September Sister Françoise joined Sisters Hiltje and Claire-Irène at St. Elizabeth, to give Sister Maatje a chance to re-immerse herself in Grandchamp for awhile.
From beginning to beginning,
through never-ending beginnings
The presence of sisters in Algiers, at St. Elizabeth, at Sonnenhof and in Woudsend, where Sister Christianne and Maria de Groot welcome groups, widens the horizon for the whole Community.
We regret that much more not being able to carry on in Chalencon. A year ago we put the Home de Grâceon the “back burner” while we tried to see what to do next. Over the months sisters have been there providing a presence of prayer, which we hope to continue until Easter 2005. However, we have gradually had to admit the limitations on our energies. It is not easy for us to leave the Ardèche, where so many seeds have already been sown and ties formed, and to disappoint the hopes of many people. But we know that the future lays in God’s hands and we trust God will show us the way.
Far away
However, the limitations of today make us open to more limited experiences of intensive sharing…
Sister Lauranne took part in the pilgrimage of the Fraternity of the Suffering Servant at Aparecida, Brazil in January, “the celebration of the poor and suffering ones”.
Sister Hélène joined Sister Yolande from the Assumption Community in maintaining a presence of prayer in Brussels, in the Chapel of the Resurrection, just before the enlargement of the European Union took place. This ecumenical chapel is kept open for prayer for a week each month by sisters from Ephrem taking turns, who also welcome visitors here in the heart of the European Parliament neighbourhood.
The situation in the Congo is relatively calm, though still so fragile and dangerous; this made it possible for Sister Eve-Evelyne to make a long visit back home to the Great Lakes Region, to see her family and friends after being away for two and a half years.
Sister Siong was able to go back to Surinam with her twin sister Twie, to the land which welcomed their whole family after they left Indonesia a little more than 40 years ago!
…and at Grandchamp
It is always very enriching, and a great privilege, to be able to welcome sisters from other communities and cultures, allowing us to experience our unity in Christ and to learn about the realities carried by others. This year was intensively shared with Little Sister Angéline from Goma, Congo; Little Sister Gabrielle Joseph from Touggourt, Algeria; Little Sister Lai Fong from Hongkong; Sisters Mary Anne and Faith from the Bafut Protestant Community in Cameroon, and Sister Joséphine from Mamré, Madagascar. Sister Joséphine will share with Sisters Lauranne, Gésine and Eve-Evelyne in the adventure of the noviciate group, until April 2005. Our group of helpers always brings us, besides their very real support in our work, the breath and the diversity of riches from different parts of the world, this year particularly from Asia. Thank you to each of you for your generosity in sharing your gifts with us!
Ecumenical events and meetings
Ecumenical events and meetings open to us spaces for reflection and sharing, and stimulate us in our vocation of unity and reconciliation.
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Sisters Pierrette and Minke went to Northern Ireland for the dedication of the church at the new Benedictine Holy Cross Monastery at Rostrevor. It was a moving moment for Father Mark Ephrem and his brothers. Their monastic life, simple and open, profoundly ecumenical, and their vocation of reconciliation are an immense sign of hope.
In Hamburg, Germany, Sister Michèle led the retreat for the sisters at the Cella Ordo Pacis at their last chapter meeting, a turning point for the whole of Ordo Pacis. A new stage is beginning in all their lives, a time of discernment in which Sister Waltraut had asked us to share in our midst.
Sisters Minke, Siong and Dorothea visited the sisters and brothers of Imshausen, with whom we have had a real Visitation since the beginning of our two communities, for a great day of thanksgiving in remembrance of their first commitments 50 years ago.
Since the summer, thanks to the presence among us of Marie-Laure Ivanov, several members of the Orthodox parish which is taking shape in Neuchâtel and several of our sisters have been praying together regularly. What a joy it was to attend the ordination to the diaconate, then to the priesthood, of Romanian Father Alexandru Tudor, and for a few of us to sing with their little choir on that blessed day!
Among the meetings, let us mention those of the Service des Contemplatives of French-speaking Switzerland, attended by Sisters Pierrette and Regina; of Kaïre in Romania, attended by Sister Anneke, of EIIR in Valamo, Finland, and the Colloquy on Thomas Merton at Bose, Italy, attended by Sister Minke. Sister Pascale participated in the meeting of the Department of Community Research at Penouël, France, and Sister Françoise in that of DIM (Interreligious Monastic Dialogue) at Bex, Switzerland.
Daily life at Grandchamp
It is the place for humble new beginnings, day after day in our life of prayer and work, in our relationships. The two annual community meetings allow us to catch our breath together, to re-establish ourselves, both personally and as a community, in our vocation. Our winter Council was marked by Sister Marie-Elisabeth’s profession taking of her final vows, by a visit from Mgr. Teissier, Archbishop of Algiers – a magnificent encounter with the pastor of a church which is open to dialogue with Islam – and by the presence of Julia, our sister from Guatemala. Our meeting time in the summer was an opportunity to hear M. Bollag, the Jewish co-director of the Lehrhaus in Zürich, and Théo Buss who had just returned from Accra, Ghana, with fresh news of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches General Council assembly. For two days too, B. and E. Eberspächer provided most sensitive support in our efforts toward listening and being open across generations.
Beginnings… in the novitiate with Sister Miriam entering in the spring and Sister Martine very soon after the deaths of Sisters Anne-Marie and Philomena. Our youngest sisters continue to benefit from the inter-monastic Bible course, where they experience sharing and friendship, a place of lively communion. The faithful contributions of Brother Pierre-Yves from Taizé and Sister Lisa from Bose, and Cathy Clifford’s fascinating talk on ecumenism, were not reserved for the novices alone.
Receiving guests is sometimes very demanding, but so enriching too. The authentic search for God of so many persons touches us, carries and supports us, and brings us the joy of a communion in which we come to know the mystery of the Body of Christ. Our guests and groups come from many different backgrounds. The retreat on icons led by Sister Olga and Madame Drobot was a blessing for the participants and for the Community. Three sisters from St. André came to prepare for their mission to Lisbon on behalf of Taizé’s European Encounter at the end of the year. We had wonderful sharing with the sisters from El Roï on their vocation of prayer and welcoming guests in downtown Basel, at the end of their week-long retreat. And for several days we had a Dutch TV team here, come to interview Sister Minke.
Many guests expressed their appreciation for the beautifully restored facade of the Ark and for the Jubilee meeting room which is now much brighter.
Within our work of receiving guests, we share a particular communion with our spiritual family – the Third Order of Unity (TOU), which was founded as such 50 years ago by the larger Community surrounding the regular Community. This year the TOU received four new members: Esther Weibel, Claire Lise Debaillet, Martine Berazategui, and Daisy Sieber. Lucette, also a TOU member, had just spent part of Lent and Easter with us, an intense time before she left for Rwanda. We continue to share the spiritual journey of the postulants in Benin. Timothée Mikpedo came for the retreat with his brother Richard, followed by the working meeting, and David Dossoumi was there for the Colloquy. Pastor Jean-Louis l’Eplattenier and Sister Catherine were in Benin in November to accompany two retreats and to continue there with the group, the effort of discerning what its future commitments should be. Pastor Daniel Bourguet led the retreat for the Servants of Unity (SU) here at Grandchamp. During their session in the summer, on the theme of the dance of obedience in John 17, they commemorated their 40 years since their first commitments. For several years, meetings of small mixed groups of SU members and Grandchamp sisters have made possible a real encounter at the level of our vocation.
In God’s eternity… With deep feelings of gratitude, we remember so many friends, persons dear to us, who left us this year: especially Anne-Christine in the Netherlands, to whom our liturgical life owes so much. During the many years she spent here in the community, she set to music our introductions, anthems and hymns, which still lift our hearts in praise and make her present to us. We also think of Brother Clement of Taizé, whose generosity and joy were so much a part of Taizé’s welcoming of guests; and of Mother Hortense, the former abbess of La Fille-Dieu (a Cistercian monastery), one of the instigators of Service des Contemplatives. We think of Katharina van Drimmelen, a SU (Servante d’Unité) in the Netherlands; Monique Blanc, a sister to us in Algeria; Madame Popescu, Ginette Held, Lucienne Gasser, Hélène Fornachon, Suzanne Junod, Pastors Peter Rudolf and Konrad Dietrich…
We are profoundly grateful once again for all your gestures of friendship, your prayers and messages, your generous support at the time when our sisters Anne-Marie and Philomena left us. Many thanks to you all!
As Advent comes once again, turning our thoughts towards the fullness of time and towards a new beginning, may we be given grace to be born and reborn in the joy of God. We wish you a blessed Christmas, the peace of Emmanuel!
Sister Pierrette and her sisters
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