Charis Nordic Service of Communion, Newsletter October 2024
CHARIS Nordic Service of Communion. We have now been informed by CHARIS Internal Office that our Nordic NSC is officially approved. We also have had contact with the Nordic Bishops conference and been informed that the bishop of Copenhagen, Czeslaw Kozon is our contact-person. Here a screenshot from the NSC´s last digital meeting.
Charismatic renewal in the Nordic Region, objectives and priorities
At a European CHARIS conference in Budapest 2021 where Scandinavian delegates took part the following was said:
”Next step for Sweden Following the conference, the following steps could be considered to facilitate the flourishing of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in Scandinavia: - Build a network of charismatic groups and communities with communication channels - Organise regular meetings online and face-to-face to strengthen and deepen relations - Identify people with a calling/charism for deliverance and train pairs in Unbound or Encounter Ministry to roll out inner healing in Sweden - Establish a National Service of Communion”
At the moment, Life in the Spirit seminars are underway under the leadership of Martti Savijoki in St. Mary's parish in Helsinki. F Dominic Valanmanal from India conducts liberation and healing ministry in Sweden. A group of people in Sweden are engaged in preparing his meetings in parishes that welcome him and support him in prayer. There is an opportunity that Renewal Ministries, a Catholic ministry in the United States that promotes renewal and evangelization through the power of the Holy Spirit, can visit Sweden. [Home - Renewal Ministries]
Priests are a key group to reach, but they are usually very busy and find it difficult to prioritize what the Charismatic renewal offers. It is not enough to invite to conferences, it must be personal contacts and building relationships. Priests can be involved in Life in the Spirit seminars. Inviting some priests to the gathering in Rome for priests, pastors and ministers 30 March – 4 April arranged by CHARIS (see below) can also be done.
Economy
The hompage for NSC Nordic is now up with the new domain name www.charisnordic.org The expenses is provided mainly by private offerings and voluntary work. Stockholm catholic diocese helps by paying for the domain name. We have a minimal organization; everything is based on volunteers.
CHARIS International also have a minimal structure with an office in the Vatican with 5 employees which is needed in their service to the worldwide charismatic renewal. It also needs to be financed by voluntary gifts. We all must be aware that the support we get through CHARIS involves costs, and every charismatic group needs to think over how they can contribute (see report from European meeting below). [make a donation]
CHARIS European Assembly Meeting Zembrzyce, Poland, 27-29.09.2024
From Scandinavia and the Nordic NSC Justyna Kadziewicz and Ulrika Classon participated. Justyna reports:
There was election of European Service of Communion Assembly and of the new Continental Coordination Team. We were all welcomed by Tony Laureys who reminded us of the role and purpose of CHARIS:
· We are family in Christ, and we stand in the same current of grace. We are getting together in order to share the experience the Holy Spirit is leading us through. We want to share and support each other….
· Holy Fader asks CHARIS to accompany, guide and build communion between different charismatic realities born from the same current of grace.
· Pope’s wish is that the whole church would have experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He is serious about it and we need to follow. We need to serve the Holy Spirit, each other and the Church. We are a unique movement in the church, like a golf stream, we can embrace and move millions in the direction shown by the Spirit.
· We are called to build Communion in the whole Church including other churches and denominations. In order to achieve it, we need to be united within Catholic Church…
· Pope Francis is calling us to serve to the poor, this can mean share the gospel to people, intercede for them, teach them to pray and to read Bible as daily bread.
A separate session was dedicated to the role of youth in the renewal of church. The pope is encouraging the Church to use the enthusiasm of the young people in a controlled and clever way. There is a need to already now build the new generation that would live in the promises that we receive for the church today. We should rather focus on daily accompaniment of the young people in their life of faith than on big events where they can have an experience of the living Jesus but will then not find guidance or an environment to grow. The pope is emphasising the role of the close individual relation with the young people, spiritual mentorship, guidance and brotherhood. We need to listen to young people, to give them time and hearts as this is this daily accompaniment that bear fruit.
Zoltan Vegh from the coordination team shared about the economic situation of the CHARIS International team. There are currently 5 people employed in the team. Thanks to it many very importance tasks were accomplished like courses, formation programs, work in commissions, events, documents etc.… Unfortunately, the situation got worse and CHARIS is facing the decision to reduce the staff numbers. We were called to express our faithfulness to the Lord even in the area of our finances, so Gods work is able to grow. We are directly and indirectly benefitting of CHARIS work, by their authority and protection as well as high quality formation. It was calculated that if every prayer group or reality in the word contributes with 10Euro every month, CHARIS International could keep the employment on the same level.
[Read the full report here]
Community of the risen Christ GALILEA
This community is represented in Sweden by Ivan Vysochanskyi, member of the NSC team. He tells us:
It is an international Catholic charismatic evangelizing community that is well established in Poland and is present in several European countries, including Ukraine. The inspiration comes from John Paul II's call for a new evangelization. Kerygma, Charismatic gifts and fellowship are the watchwords. You gather in small groups and larger meetings with worship, teaching and celebration of Mass where you build communion. There is teaching programs and evangelization schools. The goal is for everyone to get to know Jesus and become active disciples witnessing to the faith. The community is not officially established in Sweden, but members still gather. The community makes an important contribution in bringing together Ukrainian-speaking Catholics in Sweden. The community has a network on the internet whith regular gatherings for prayer and teaching. In the parishes where the local vicar allows, they also gather for larger meetings. Meetings have been held in Järfälla, Haninge and Nässjö. Ivan comes from Ukraine and belongs to the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Events:
Nov 26-28 2024: Deliverance and grace anointing with f Dominic Valanmanal
Retreat in Holy Trinity parish Järfälla [more info]
31 March – 4 April 2025: Walking together towards unity, CHARIS event, Gathering of priests, pastors and ministers in Rome. [more info]
In response to the Holy Father’s call to work towards Christian Unity, CHARIS has decided to organize for the first time a meeting of priests, pastors and ordained ministers as part of the Holy Year, from March 31 to April 4, 2025. The aim of this event is to provide a space for meetings and testimonies from a variety of backgrounds around the challenge of the Unity of the Body of Christ, which also comes about through fraternal exchanges between people all driven by the desire to evangelize.
/Bengt Malmgren
coordinator