With Faith and Light growing across the Middle East, a new regional zone was formed at the International Council in Madrid in 2006. Corinne Chatain, the movement's general secretary, was invited to Amman, Jordan, in late March to guide the discernment and election of the zone coordinator. Here she reflects on what she witnessed.
Lebanon, Jordan, Armenia, Kuwait—so many nations represented to elect the new Middle East coordinator. After reports from each country and time for discernment, Lebanese member Roni Jalkh was chosen. Notably, only the representatives from Iran and Palestine had failed to obtain visas. How easily we take these things for granted in our Western countries. It strikes you differently when you face, concretely, the struggles our friends navigate around the world.
In Lebanon, war ravaged the country last summer. Friends watched their homes destroyed in an instant. Summer camps, deemed too dangerous, were cancelled. Faith and Light resumed life in October when two regional leaders organized meetings to sustain and encourage the communities.
Amid the chaos, everyone continues to pray for peace and dreams of creating a third region.
Armenia has had Faith and Light since 1998, despite grinding poverty and the painful legacy of years under dictatorship. Eager to claim their place in the larger Faith and Light family, the communities manage to contribute a small membership fee to the movement (five cents per member) and organize bazaars to raise funds. Since its founding, the first community has grown into two—now called "Faith" and "Light." Each year they depart for camps on the shores of a lake dominated by two Orthodox monasteries, where they are welcomed warmly. It is a vibrant place that hopes with all its heart to be recognized as a full Faith and Light member.
Life runs more smoothly for the four communities in Jordan. Lina radiates good sense, tenderness, and conviction. One community welcomes refugees from Iraq. Soon an Orthodox community will take root. Beyond her role as national coordinator, Lina supports—at the zone council's request—the two small Palestinian communities. She alone in the entire zone can reach them.
Kuwait presents real obstacles. Fadi, the local representative, overflows with strength and enthusiasm. The small community was recognized in 2006 and gathers roughly fifty-five members. Yet they cannot expand easily: members are Lebanese, Iranian, Syrian. Only three families are Kuwaiti. Soon an English-speaking community will emerge, bringing together people from India and the Philippines.
On behalf of everyone, thank you. Old dictatorships, recent wars, religious persecution—religions themselves dividing—and yet in the midst of this tangle of suffering, small Faith and Light communities live and grow, mixing faiths and nations. What a mystery. What hope, or rather what revelation: it is the smallest among us who unite us and help us grow in love, in God's love.
Corinne Chatain, 2007
Ombres et Lumière n. 158