Meeting of the International Council for Christians and Jews,
Berlin, July, 2009
Sisters Teresa Brittain, Pat Cusick, Ellen Knox and Clare Jardine, attended, on behalf of the Province, the ICCJ meeting in Berlin last week and it was a truly meaningful experience. There were 10 Sisters of Sion present from different provinces, so it felt like a Sionian reunion.
The theme of the conference was A Time for Recommitment - Jewish-Christian Dialogue, 70 years after the beginning of World War II and the Holocaust.
During the conference the "Twelve Points of Berlin" were launched and every CCJ is being ecouraged to promote and study it. They are as follows:
- A CALL TO CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES
1. To combat religious, racialand all other forms of antisemitism
2. To promote interreligious dialogue with Jews
3. To develop theoligcal understanding of Judaism that affirm its dinstinctive integrity
4. To pray for the peace of Jerusalem
- A CALL TO JEWS AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES
5. To acknowledge the efforts of many Christians communities in the late 20th Century to reform their attitudes towards Jews
6. To re-examine Jewish texts and luturgy in the light of these Christian reforms
7. To differentiate between fair-minded criticism of Israel and antisemitism
8. To offer encouragement to the State of Israel as it works to fulfil the ideals stated in its founding documents, a task Israel shares with many nations of the world.
- A CALL TO BOTH CHRISTIAN AND JEWSIH COMMUNITES AND OTHERS
9. To enhance interreligious and intercultural education
10. To promote interreligious friendship and co-operation as well as social justice in the global sociiety
11. To enhance dialogue with political and economic bodies
12. To network with all those whose work responds to the demands of environmental stewardship
To all these challenges and responsibiliites, we - the International Council of Christians and Jews and its member organizations - commit ourselves. (Berlin July 2009)
Fuller details of the 12 points of Berlin can be found on the website: www.iccj.org
Besides the talks and workshops, we attended a reception with the Chancellor Angela Merkel and she spoke very positively about the work of ICCJ and Jewish Christian relations and the developments in Germany. We also visited the Holocaust Memorial site and the Jewish Museum as well as a boat trip on the River Spree where we saw many landmarks of Berlin. It was a busy but meaningful few days.