After this obligatory break, we were able to meet again at the Franciscan House of Spirituality in our ‘Chipiona Meeting’ with the intention of taking great care of the playful aspect, coexistence and mutual enrichment, and the training activities
We were able to reflect on feminism and the challenge for churches to integrate half of humanity, so present but so constrained
Four themes were developed in simultaneous workshops: ecumenism, the relationship with our corporality, the power to heal wounds and our empowerment as believers. Various moments of prayer helped us to spiritually enrich this meeting
And as a culmination, an ecumenical celebration that concentrates everything lived in its different facets, putting it in common and offering it to God as a sign of gratitude or reconciliation with ourselves and our equals.
Four themes were developed in simultaneous workshops: ecumenism, the relationship with our corporality, the power to heal wounds and our empowerment as believers. Various moments of prayer helped us to spiritually enrich this meeting
And as a culmination, an ecumenical celebration that concentrates everything lived in its different facets, putting it in common and offering it to God as a sign of gratitude or reconciliation with ourselves and our equals.
After this forced break, we were able to meet again at the House of Spirituality of the Franciscans in our “Encounter of Chipiona”. This year’s event has been very special since we have seen again people that we had not seen for three years, and also received new participants wanting to experience the LGTBIQ+ experience of the good news.
Since our first meeting, in February 2009, many things have happened, but we have always had people experiencing it for the first time: this year someone said: “I didn’t know this existed” This is an idea that we have all had the first time we stepped on Chipiona. And although time has passed since that moment, every year there is the opportunity for someone, during the meeting, to make us relive with their feeling that feeling of the first time, of “I’m not alone”. Just for that, for the illusion of seeing in other hearts, or of feeling it in your own, that we are all one, that we are all one, that we are all one… and that we can live our faith from the fullness of our beingit is already worth the presence in Chipiona.
But in addition to this, which would be the most important thing, the coexistence between all of us, the organizers, members on this occasion, and on so many others, of the Ichthys Group of Seville, also offered us formation, reflection, prayer and celebration.
This year, and after not being able to hold the meeting in 2020 and 2021, the people who have organized it intended to take great care of the aspect of coexistence and mutual enrichment devoting enough time to it and with more recreational activities such as the Moscatel and Tuna route, the tour of Chipiona on a tourist train, or the Saturday night outing; experiences that we enjoy by reviving the little person that we carry inside.
But not for that, they have neglected the formation activitieslike the one we had on Saturday morning with Beatriz Blesa in her talk on the Feminist Heresy; in which she made a historical review of the advances that feminism has brought to our society, and how the different churches have reacted to them; We were also able to reflect on the current challenges of feminism and the challenge for churches to integrate half of humanity, so present but so constrained.
On Saturday afternoon, we had the opportunity to delve into four topics developed in simultaneous workshops that dealt with ecumenism, the relationship with our corporality, the power to heal wounds and our empowerment as believers.
But not only training and reflection does the person live: both on Friday night and on Saturday morning we had various moments of prayer who helped us to spiritually enrich this meeting.
And as a culmination ecumenical celebration that concentrates everything lived in its different facets, putting it in common and offering it to God as token of gratitude or reconciliation with ourselves and our equals. Both in the prayers and in the celebration, there is no other option but to thank God for the gift of music that helps us predispose the spirit in these strong amounts of union with the Holy Spirit.
“With the will that fear does not prevent us from putting our light on the table so that it illuminates everyone in the House”
Definitely, another great experience of Christian life that strengthens us and encourages us not to lose heart in following Jesus of Nazareth. And with the desire that fear does not prevent us from putting our light on the table so that it illuminates everyone in the House, we write this brief review.
Signed: a group of attendees at the Chipiona meeting.
God bless you
and keep you
show you his face
and have mercy on you
I looked at you kindly
and grant you peace
