Holoucaust Conference

Last weekend in Ceske Budejovice was a conference about the Jews from this area who had died during the Nazi holocaust. We didn't attend the whole conference, but on Sunday morning we were there together with members of several churches from our city to remember those who had died and to confess the sin of the church. Although it was a Nazi atrocity, the church had been complicit through inaction and complicit through a theology of blaming Jews for the death of Jesus. We also listened with sadness to the names of those who died from Ceske Budejovice being read out. It was a very moving event. 

It made me ask myself questions:

• Do we stand by when others suffer?
• Are we ignorant of those who are in trouble?
• Do we care about the oppressed?
• Do we theologize about inaction?
• Do we forget that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?
• What of abortion, immigrants, Roma, oppressed women and children, the lonely, unfair trade, the hungry, the elderly, etc.
• Are we open to God's love, grace and mercy?