The Federal Palace in the Swiss city of Bern, recently hosted a meeting of around 25 evangelical leaders of international churches in Switzerland.

It was organised by the Swiss Evangelical Alliance (SEA-RES) and the the Intercultural Working Group of the German branch of the Alliance (SEA).

Networking and mission

During the meeting, the leaders reflected in small groups on how to network between the domestic Swiss churches and the international churches.

"The discussions on this topic were very intense. The structural question was raised, as was the fact that most of the international pastors have a professional job in addition to their service, which makes it difficult for them to participate in the different committees", said Jean-Luc Ziehli, President of the French branch of the Alliance (RES).

They also agree to avoid competition and rivalry between churches, in order to work as one. "This is a challenge that the SEA-RES will have to take up, as unity is at the heart of its mandate", he pointed out.

Another topic of reflection was how to undertake together the mission of preaching the Gospel in Switzerland. "That mission is often at the centre of the vision of international leaders. This is an area where the native Swiss certainly have something to learn from them" underlined Ziehli.

There were also time to worship and pray together in different languages. The participants formed a large circle and joined hands in a prayer for unity between the different people present, but also unity for our country.

"This time of prayer for unity from a Federal Palace Commission room was a strong symbol, a direction given", stressed the President of RES.

Visit to the federal palace

The meeting was followed by a visit to the Federal Palace. That day happened to be an open day for this political institution, so that families with children were wandering unsupervised through the different parts of the building.

"Many of the participants expressed their great surprise at how free and easy it was to visit the place of government, while in their home countries, the place of power is massively protected and inaccessible", explained Ziehli about the visit.

At the end of the meeting the leaders expressed their wish to meet again in the future. In his concluding remarks, Egzon Shala, coordinator of the SEA-RES Intercultural Working Group, encouraged everyone to see differences as enrichments.