Invitation

Let's celebrate!

The European Methodist Council invites you to another big Festival - this time in Bratislava, Slovakia. Three years ago, on the 300th birthday of John Wesley, 1000 Methodists from all over Europe met in Potsdam, Germany.

As the Bishop of this area, based in Geneva, I am delighted to welcome the Festival to a country of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, lies on the beautiful blue Danube in the heart of Europe, only 50 km from Vienna. The Festival, from 1-5 August 2007, will take place in the grounds of the Economic University at Horsky Park. We will be using many of the rooms in the student hostels.

The small Methodist Church in Slovakia is preparing for this meeting of Methodists with great enthusiasm, faith and hope. They are being supported by an international team which has chosen the Festival theme "Let's celebrate!"

What are we to celebrate? We want to celebrate the love of God for creation. Through Jesus Christ we are God's beloved children. Our variety and that which we have in common are treasures that we can experience in this Europe-wide meeting. The abundance of God-given gifts and tasks will hopefully be discovered by children, young people, adults, families, and throughout our Methodist churches.

At the same time we are celebrating the 300th birthday of Charles Wesley, who was born in England on 18 December 1707. His hymns have influenced the Methodist movement all over the world.

In Bratislava we shall sing and make music. We shall use various ways of listening to and working on biblical texts, and experience various forms of spirituality. We shall come together in "Wesley groups" for prayer and conversation. We expect lots of young people and children. Their creativity, musical talent and joyful attitude will enrich the Festival. Around 25 workshops on very varied topics will be offered. Sport, drama and other leisure activities are planned. Some big events - with ecumenical and political guests - are in preparation.

There will be opportunity for lively and informal conversations in the evenings at the Night Cafés and in small groups, when we also hope for warm weather. The events will be translated into various languages.

Look out for further information in your churches, in the church press and on the Internet.
I'm looking forward to meeting you in Bratislava in Summer 2007.

May the spirit of Jesus encourage us to celebrate God's love and to live out God's love in the world.

Yours, Bishop Dr Patrick Streiff

Download invitation ( PDF, 23KB)

Dowload slovakian version (PDF, 25KB)

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