First Meeting of the Nordic Commission
June 16-17, 2004; Island of Tautra, Norway

Sister GilChrist was involved in the early years of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue in the United States, but in recent years has been living at her community’s new foundation in Norway. She has been instrumental in promoting interreligious dialogue in that country and here reports on the very first meeting of the Nordic Commission.

On June 16-17, 2004, we had our first DIM Nordic Commission meeting. This took place at the Cistercian monastery of Tautra Mariakloster on a small island (population 37!) in the Trondheim Fjord in Central Norway, a beautiful location at the edge of the fjord.

The commission members included: Sr. M. Anastasia, O.SS.S, Sr. Katrin Åmell, O.P., Sr. Paul Marie Delcorte, OCSO, Father Bernard Bernard Durell, O.P. , Vibecke Lasheras, Sr. GilChrist Lavigne, OCSO, Pastor Berit Lånke, Pastor Ole Skjerbæk Madsen, Bishop Georg Müller, SSCC, Fr. Anthony O’Brien, and OCSO, Dr. Notto R. Thelle. Three other commission members were not able to attend, but we were joined by Sr. Bruno Marie Colin, OSB, the director of the European DIM-MID, who came from Belgium, and we were very grateful for her helpful information and direction.

While our commission members all came to us from Scandinavian countries—Norway, Sweden and Denmark—Sr. GilChrist noted that the eleven members present had been born in nine different countries. We saw how this reflected the reality of our situation in Scandinavia.

The meeting opened with a dinner followed by reflections by each member on their personal journeys, emphasizing where a person’s journey may have been influenced or helped by contact with Eastern spirituality.

The following morning we joined for Lauds and Eucharist with the nuns at Tautra Mariakloster and spent the rest of the day at their monastery. After a presentation by Sr. Bruno about the history of DIM-MID and Sr. Gilchrist’s mention of her involvement of the U.S. MID, we proceeded to our business meeting. We spoke of both the challenges and the possibilities for Interreligious Dialogue in Scandinavia. We then looked at more concrete possibilities for our group, not only for next year, but in the years to come.

After another period of prayer with the nuns of Tautra, we joined them for a festive dinner in their convent dining room. We then finished our meeting with more practical matters including the dates for next year’s meeting in June. We decided that next year we would focus on a deeper faith sharing among our own members, and we asked Fr. Bernard Durel to facilitate this session, along with Vibecke Lasheras, who would guide some of our meditation periods. We also planned a local bulletin with news from our commission and links to the International Bulletin which would appear twice a year. So we look forward to future meetings together counting on the Spirit’s guidance.

Bulletin 73 • Index