PCUSA Mission

Special Thank Offering Message November 6, 2005

Speakers: Evelyn and Gary Baker, Patty and Earl Todt

Reformation Mission Tour 2005

OUR TRIP TO PRAGUE - “ A NEW BEGINNING”

I’m not even certain how we heard about it but there it was. An opportunity for a early -reformation tour to France and finally to the Czech Republic, led by Rev. Beverly Schmitt of Columbus. This was the second such trip sponsored by the Global Mission Committee of the Presbytery of Scioto Valley. The more we thought about it and inquired about the arrangements the more excited we became and thus decided to do it. A little later we learned that Patty and Earl Todt also had decided to go and that added to our anticipation.

The Presbyterian Women of the church asked if we would do a presentation for this Thank Offering Service which is to promote the Mission of the Presbyterian Church. Our relationship to the church in the Czech Republic is indeed mission as we try to understand their struggle and enthusiasm in a new beginning You will hear more about this latter. About a year ago you heard Joyce Michael speak here. She and her husband, John are out representatives in the Czech church and were with us while we were in Prague.

As you can imagine we cannot cover our two weeks in 20 minutes so we thought we would concentrate today on the Evangelical Church of the Brethren in the Czech Republic so that you may understand some of their history and where they are today as well as our relationship to them. They have a fascinating story. Our trip started in southern France and Earl will say something about that as it gives us a background of the Reformation common to all of us.

At the back we have placed pictures, maps, literature, etc. that we gleaned on the trip and we would be pleased to have you look at that and ask us questions that you may have.

Besides the assurance that the welcoming rainbow gave us of God’s guiding presence, we found a committee led by John and Joyce Michael, Peter Stevens and other staff members from the Protestant Theological Seminary of Charles University waiting to take us (and our luggage) to our assigned housing for the next 5 days. It was a joyful reunion with those some of us had met previously, and with the others who would become our friends before the end of our stay . After settling into our rooms and a good night’s sleep we were ready to begin learning about the Protestant Reformation in the Czech Lands and to get acquainted with the largest Reformed Church in today’s Czech Republic, The Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren. To help us, outstanding members of the faculty of the Protestant Seminary and the key leaders of the ECCB were on hand to help us. On that first morning Professor Peter Moree discussed the "History of Christianity in the Czech Lands" and Professor Jacob Trojani described the role of the churches in Czech society during the Communist period and at the present time. Here is just a brief overview of what they made very real to us:

Christianity was introduced into the Czech Lands in the 800's: (the ninth century)

from the west by German monks and missionaries and from the east by 2 monks (named Cyril and Methodius) from the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople. These two were very successful in planting churches. They also created the Cyrillic alphabet, (so that the language of the people could be put into writing;) and then to translate Bible stories into the local language.

Prague was founded in a very favorable location on a large navigable river, The Vlatava, where a major trade route between the East and the West intercepted the river. The area was ruled in the tenth century by "Good King Wenceslas" – the one we celebrate in a familiar Christmas carol – He was a pious and just ruler. Under his reign, the kingdom prospered and grew. Prague became a major center of commerce and trade. His descendants ruled for another 300 or so years and began to build a castle complex on the hill overlooking and across the Vlatava River from the "Old town". With prosperity, Prague began to develop into a major cultural and artistic center, as well as a center of commerce and finance.

In the early 14th century, Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor decided that Prague would be more suitable and strategically located as a capital for his Empire than Rome was. He hired the best architects and artisans in Italy to plan and build a grand government center on the Castle Hill and a great cathedral, St. Vitus. Prague entered into a boom period to become the most prestigious and powerful center in the Western world. This was news to most of us and it may be news to you, too. At one point, even the Vatican established an office in Prague and for a time it served as the active center of the Roman Catholic Church. .

In 1348 Charles IV founded the first University in central Europe and he brought intelligent and innovative teachers to this center of learning. It was named Charles University in his honor.

Toward the end of the 14th century a movement of Christian spiritual renewal was developing in opposition to the corruption and power of the Roman church. A number of teachers and preachers prepared the way for this revival. At Charles University, Bethlehem Chapel had been built in 1391 near the center of Prague as the College’s chapel. It was to serve as a center for preaching God’s word in the Czech language, and quickly became the spiritual center of this reforming activity. (not a parish Church but a place where people can learn about and discuss the new ideas. The question of which pope is the "real" pope became more important again. There were two different ideas about communion (serving either element to lay people, only bread, or both bread and wine), questions about baptism, life and death issues.)

John Hus, a priest from a small town outside of Prague was brought to Charles University to teach and preach at Bethlehem Chapel. He taught philosophy and theology and soon became rector of Charles University. By 1412 he stood up against the sale of indulgences and the general corruption of the medieval papal church. In his writings he stressed the need for a true biblical faith subject to the Word of God in all spheres of life and Jesus teachings and example of love. He led singing of Czech religious hymns by the whole congregation and soon had crowds of people attending services several times each week The Roman Church did not appreciate his criticisms and put increasing pressures on Hus. Finally he was ordered to appear at a Church Council at Constance to be questioned about his views. He was detained and questioned again, put in prison for a time and finally was declared a heretic and sentenced to death by the General Church Council of Constance and burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.

This execution was felt by his countrymen to be an indignity to their nation and when the ruling prince began a savage persecution of Hus’ followers the people revolted. About 95% of them identified as Hussites at this time. For a time their poorly equipped forces were successful against the combined forces of the Emperor and the Pope, and they even won some concessions from the secular/ ecclesiastical powers when the Council at Basel (in 1433) accepted their chief demands for reform. But eventually the Hussites were overwhelmed and were forced to go "underground" or to go into exile to remain true to their faith.

The Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren was founded in 1918 with the union of the Reformed and Lutheran churches. As is the habit today to shorten everything to initials, the church is referred to as the ECCB.

My job in five minutes or less is to talk about the Diakonie which is basically the mission of the whole church. Diakonie in Greek means “serving”.

Seventy years ago there were more than 800 organizations helping people. It was indeed a noble means of outreach and also a means of evangelism. The primary goal was to help people and if it should produce converts to the Christian faith and win members to the church, that was all well and good but that was secondary to helping people. But the Nazis put restrictions on this activity in the 1930’s. Then the Communists came in and eliminated any remaining vestiges; their system actually destroyed all the organizations. Their goal was a Communist state which had a monopoly over all services for the people so that they would be completely dependent on the state for all things.

As I said, there had been 800 organizations helping people through the church. When the Communist era ended in 1989, the year the Berlin wall fell, the Czech people started again from zero. Helping organizations were mainly started by the Christian churches striving to witness to a serving Christ. In 1989 at the end of Communism the Czech republic was probably the most atheistic country in the western world.

To describe Diakonie as simply as possible in terms we can all understand is to say to serve or social services. When we were in Prague we were taken by subway and train to a social service center and church. It was a situation where they located a social service center in the midst of a hugh housing development where the people were and built that building first and started using it to help people much as Bridgehaven is used in Waverly for the homeless. We met with staff there and then toured the facility and met with people living there at that time. Following that we went right next door to this building which was being erected which was clearly going to be a beautiful church some day but at the time we were there they were having a problem with a shortage of funds to keep the construction going. We even met the architect.

An accepted principal of the Czech DIAKONIE is that it should not be a money-making enterprise, but that it should be a selfless service of Christian love for all of the afflicted -- poor and rich. It was believed that by this path the DIAKONIE could be co-workers in spreading the Kingdom of God in Bohemia. The Spirit of Christ and the principles of the Bible should determine the spirit of the planned DIAKONIE. The complete name of the association was: “the Czech DIAKONIE, an Evangelical Association for Attending to the Sick and the Poor.” Its headquarters were in Prague and still are.

Diakonie does so many things that it is difficult to mention them all and I won’t be able to do that in the time allowed. But some of them include:

Services for Seniors and Citizens with disabilities -- special care for persons with Altzheimers.
Special homes for MS victims.
They were building centers for the mentally retarded even before the communists left.
SOS Centers -- urgent, emergency help. They have a high incidence of domestic violence. One study in Moravia shows 70% of wives suffered at the hands of their husbands.
There are 3 centers with Roma (Gypsy) children. They are the biggest minority in the country -- maybe 3,000 to 4,000 children. Estimate 10 million Roma in the total population. They create orphanages for these children as well as for other children.
One center for the visually impaired.
They opened a new hospice last year -- a place to die with dignity.
They work with and for the poor and the needy.

Diakonie’s basic principal is that the local church must be conducting local services. They now have 33 centers throughout the country. We are told that more than 70% of the social services are run by the government.

There, in a nut shell, you have some of what we learned and experienced on our trip, from the Huguenots in southern France to the present ECCB church. An now, where do we, and the church, go from here? The church, although, having been organized about 87 years ago has known persecutions of all kinds and yet it is not dead. It is struggling to gain membership, legislative reform to give it legal status in its work , and to know its mission but it goes on.

The Czech people say they are quite uncertain as to who and what they are. What is their identity? Many have lost faith and hope that changes can happen. What is normalization?

The people of this Republic have a long history of nonviolent resistance to oppression. One leader of the church who spoke to us said “ If you wish to achieve something durable it does not need violence”

Fifteen years ( since the Russians left) is not enough time to have restored the spirit of society to the church. Some programs are being formed for young people . There are camps and gatherings for them. Young people of the entire country gather once a year at specific places. There is one pastor in each Presbytery who works with the youth.

Muck of the life of Christianity takes place away from the obvious medieval churches and baroque monasteries that saturate Prague.

The Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren along with other Christians there don’t give up. It is a new beginning for the faithful and combined with a struggle for human rights and care for the less fortunate of their society. A small percentage of the population of the country go to church. many people are agnostics or atheists. Alcohol is a great problem. The church is tolerated by society and yet society is suspicious of the church. But the church goes on to a new beginning.