Chambon and the World Council of Churches

There is a unifying theme in our visits to Le Chambon sur Lignon onn Monday and Tuesday (May 16-17, 2011) and to the World Council of Churches in Geneva on Thursday (May 19). In both cases people needing confront major global challenges found both core ideas to guide their actions and institutional support necessary for success. One of the challenges people from the U.S. face in thinking about leadership is thinking the person must 'do it alone.' While clearly Andre Trocme did a lot to lead his community, he knew he and his family could only succeed with a whole existing structure behind them. They found that structure in the churches on 'the plateau.'

                                                            Chambon sur Lignon

Another challenge Americans face is seeing the role of the church is that U.S. Christianity so often has a focus simply on personal or individualistic faith. We seldom are reminded that much of scripture is focused on how people relate to each other, including issues such as welcoming aliens, forgiving offenses, forgiving debts, and caring for the stranger.. These visits hopefully will serve to remind us of both the relevance of faith to addressing issues of international justice and the structural support that churches can provide to multiply the impact a single leader can have.