Annual Report 2019

Working towards sustainable solidarity
among the population
Boko Haram, the Islamist militia, has terrorised the
population of north-eastern Nigeria since 2009. A total
of over two million people have been forced to flee,
and thousands have lost their lives. Attacks and
abductions increased again in 2019. The victims include
both Christian and Muslim inhabitants of the region.
Mission 21 and its partners on the ground are working
to bring about peace between Christians and Muslims,
and they provide support for victims of violence. In 2019,
for example, a training session on the theme of peace
attracted almost 50 participants; 70 young Christians
and Muslims attended workshops to help them overcome
their prejudices; and our partner church EYN launched
and supported two new interfaith dialogue groups.
Mission 21 supports peace work in Nigeria to bring about
sustainable solidarity among the population.
Yakubu Joseph, Mission 21's coordinator in Nigeria (left),
pictured deep in discussion.
Photograph: Mission 21
It is for this precise reason that the Pfäffikon
church congregation in Zurich canton has
been supporting theological training in Sabah,
Malaysia, for the last year. After they graduate,
the students go on to act as key multipliers for
a fair, peaceful and inclusive society in their
churches and their social context. “They help
people to become more resilient,” according to
Maria Bertschi Steiner; she visited the theological
college last year and returned home with
many positive impressions. She was particularly
moved by the many encounters with people that
she experienced in Sabah. From her conversations
with them, she realised how deeply these
students are committed to peaceful coexistence
and social justice – important principles in a
country where the gap between poor and rich is
widening.
A commitment to reconciliation
What motivated Maria Bertschi Steiner’s involvement
with Mission 21? She can trace it
back to a book by Ronald J. Sider that she read
many years ago: “Rich Christians in an Age of
Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity”,
in which he refers to Jesus’ comment on
the camel going through the eye of the needle.
Reading the book encouraged her to take action
to help people throughout the world. Another
factor was her upbringing at home, where it
was “perfectly normal” to donate ten percent
of savings to those in need. Pastor Paul Kleiner
stresses that his parental home was also a decisive
influence. In the 1960s, his parents were
missionaries in south-western Nigeria. As a
youngster, Paul attended school there for six
years – and this was at the time of the Biafra
War (1967–70). This first-hand experience
taught him about the importance of the churches
in difficult circumstances. As a young pastor,
he then went on to spend ten years as a lecturer
at a theological college in Angola. There
too, a civil war was raging while he was present
in the country. Paul Kleiner therefore understands
how important it is to support Mission 21
in its work of training prospective theologians.
“Well trained pastors are activists for peace;
faith gives people support and hope – it promotes
reconciliation instead of revenge.”
Sharing – a firmly rooted tradition of the
church congregation
An exhibition on the theme of peace was staged
in the parish last year. This event also drew in
people from outside the church congregation.
A “soup lunch” is held once every year. For this
event, the congregation aims to invite a guest
from the global South to take part in a service.
In October 2019, Pfäffikon welcomed Yakubu
Joseph, Mission 21’s coordinator in Nigeria,
who was staying in Switzerland at the time. He
was able to report to a packed church on peace
promotion work undertaken in Nigeria by
Mission 21 and its partner organisations. Afterwards,
there was still time for valuable discussions
with interested members of the congregation
over a cup of coffee.
Maria Bertschi Steiner and Pastor Paul
Kleiner also note that church services repeatedly
touch on the subject of mission. In all of
these ways, the congregation develops the good
habit of sharing and increasingly comes to see
itself as part of the worldwide church.
Friedrich Weibel,
Church Partnerships Coordinator
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