This week I had the honour to address a colloquium being held in the Belgian Senate on being a “Relgioptimist”. I have never really thought of myself in such a way before but being asked what makes me optimistic about the role religion plays in our societies led me to reflect that actually, we do have much to be optimistic about. The transformative work done by people of all faiths in their local communities is a cause for optimism. I heard a Muslim social worker from Belgium talk about how working with young people was both inspiriting and challenging due to both culture and practice but that she saw great opportunities to ensure Muslim young people were truly integrated into society. I heard young people from Christian and Muslim backgrounds talk about how just being in the same room together and being able to have a dialogue was a sign of optimism – no one was being asked to change, to be something different, but simply to be who they were and share what faith meant to them.
I spoke about how the diaconal work of the churches and Christian organisations brings both hope and transformation. I spoke about how much of our societies are preoccupied by the pursuit of power -economic, industrial, geographical among them – but that we should look for alternative understandings of power if we want to have a socially just society. Hope and transformation – expressed through the love that comes from our faith are alternative sources of power, driven by the search for the common good rather than personal gain. It is my view that this is what Diaconia tries to do. When we advocate for changes in social policy it is not because we want to be the most successful or the most powerful NGO, it is because we have a fundamental desire to have the best possible policies to ensure the wellbeing of all people. When we open new care centres or services it is not because we want to be the biggest or own the most property but because we see growing needs in our society that must be met with accessible, affordable and quality services. When I see that, I see that we can be optimistic about the role of religion in our society.
But we also need to know how to tell that story better – that story of modern day transformation, of signs of hope, of belief in the fundamental dignity of each person, of building a vision of a society where all are valued, active, supported and empowered. We are not always good at telling people that – we tend to look inwards rather than outwards. However, this week I was reminded that people want to hear our stories – and so we need to share our optimism and ‘infect’ others with it and show what is possible with good policy, good services and a changed view of people and society.
So I end this week as an optimist, but also one committed to telling more people more about the story of Eurodiaconia and its members – please join me!
Have a good weekend
Heather