The Mission Council of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (ems) is meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali. I’m still representing my church EKHN in this body till my successor is elected.
In the first days the hosting church GKPB (Gereja Kristen Protestan di Bali) organized an exposure program for us delegates of the Mission Council. We went to the Pniel Blimbingsari Congregation in the north-west of the island. We learnt how deep Christianity in this place relates to Balinese Culture. You can recognize it in the architecture of the church building which is according to a Balinese Tempel Structure.
In the opening service of the Mission Council, it was the traditional Christian Balinese Dance which brings together elements of the classical temple dance and the Christian message. The Balinese “Dancing Cross” is an expression of the belief that the cross is not only linked to suffering but also to our Christian hope and joy.
We visited the children’s home for orphans of the congregation in Blimbingsari and laid the foundation stone for a new additional building of the shelter for victims of gender-based violence run by Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation near to Denpasar.
The ecological department of the Dhyana Pura University, which is run by the GKPB introduced us to ecological products which have been developed by the department and brought to production like herbal tea, herbal deodorant spray, lady-finger-biscuits or organic fertilizer.
How crucial the pollution of rivers and the ocean with plastic waste is we experienced in the mangroves of Segara Batu Lumbang near to Denpasar. A cooperative of fisherman are keeping care of a sustainable development of the mangroves and started an initiative of collecting the plastic waste in these mangroves.