Bienvenue à Bossey!

After months of anticipation (and relatively little preparation), I’ve finally arrived at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute to begin a year in residence, working toward a master of theology in ecumenical studies.

The institute is centred around a converted chateau situated about a half-hour’s drive outside Geneva, in the bucolic surroundings of rural, French-speaking Switzerland. We’re on the shores of Lake Geneva, the Jura Mountains in the background, and bell-clad cows grazing and clanging in the background. All that’s missing is Heidi frolicking through the meadows.

The setting is rather conducive to reflection and study, which is, of course, what I’m here to do along with about 30 other students. I’m the only North American in the bunch, the others coming from (in no particular order) Indonesia, South Korea, Madagascar, Bosnia, Ukraine, Cameroon, Romania, Germany, India, England, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Zambia, Bolivia, Myanmar, Georgia, Brazil, Rwanda, and Belarus. (Some other students are still having visa issues and may or may not be able to join us in the days ahead. If they do, the list of nations will get even longer.) Equally diverse are the churches we represent. I’m one of two Anglicans, with the other participants coming from Presbyterian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, United, Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches. Pictured above, from the left, are my classmates Mar Bwe (a Baptist from Myanmar), Dilene (a Methodist from Brazil), Prashant (Church of North India), and Hee Wung (a Methodist from South Korea).

We’re a motley crew, to be sure, but we all seem to be settling in nicely to life together. We’ve already had some animated (though not heated) discussions both in and out of class. We’re also having to get accustomed to different worship styles, since our twice-a-day chapel services are planned and led by the student body, according to our geography and/or tradition. So far we’ve had everything from African drums to hymns in German. I have to lead a “North American” worship service by myself next week, whatever that is. Suggestions would be welcome.

I’m not sure how frequent these updates will be. I’ve never blogged before, and it’s still not clear how big my workload is going to be. But I’ll do my best to share at least occasional glimpses of this remarkable international, ecumenical experience on which I’ve embarked.