Spirituality Matters!
Insights in the Spiritual Dimension
of Mission Theologies and Grassroots Missionary Practice
in Central and Eastern Europe
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies invites theologians, missiologists, reflective practitioners and other professionals to its annual conference titled: Spirituality matters! Insights in the spiritual dimension of mission theologies and grassroots missionary practice in Central and Eastern Europe, to be held between 19-22 February 2019 at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.
In a growing awareness about the close relation between mission and spirituality, crucial for a deeper understanding of mission for Christianity worldwide, the present Call for Papers intends to enrich the conversations on the topic with perspectives and insights from Central and Eastern Europe.
Spirituality defines the why, how, when, the with whom and the where of all missionary and missiological practice (thinking, doing, reflecting). It is through this thesis that we issue this Call for Papers. Spirituality is at the centre of Christian faith, as it relates to experiencing God in human life. Although this term is defined differently in different times, faith traditions and cultural settings, spirituality cannot be looked at without paying close attention to social construction and inter-relational processes. Spirituality has much to do with community formation, connecting the individual with their public, political, and social engagement in larger societal processes. One of the most tangible ways of looking at different forms of spirituality in the societies of CEE is by observing how public spaces have been redesigned: e.g. the architecture and construction of shopping malls, churches, and other buildings.
While ever present in theological history, spirituality in its contemporary large-scale usage became part of everyday conversations not necessarily linked to any Christian tradition. In Central and Eastern Europe an intensive diversification about reflecting, speaking and acting on spirituality has taken place during the last thirty years and so, due the several factors, such as:
- The flooding into CEE after the political changes of 1989/90 by Christian missionaries from all over the world and from a large spectrum of faith traditions.
- The commercialisation of religion that became visible in the publishing of books, and the widespread offering of courses, and training programs under the heading of “spirituality”.
- The growing influence of social media in people´s life and the digitalization of spirituality.
- A revival of the interest in spiritual formation within different Christian traditions.
- A revival of ethnic/national mythologies with explicit ideas on spirituality.
In the midst of this diverse interpretation of spirituality, this Call for Papers invites contributions to reflect on what spirituality means for Christian communities, churches, mission organisations, missionaries, theologians, theological educators working in and related to different contexts in Central and Eastern Europe.
We invite contributions which take into consideration but are not limited by the following questions:
- What is spirituality when it comes to missionary/Christian presence and missionary practice in CEE?
- What motivates and sustains us in mission?
- What are the implications of spirituality for academic theology/missiology?
- How do mission and spirituality relate in terms of ministerial/theological formation?
- To what extent does spirituality create autobiographical mission theologies?
- What is the role of Christian spirituality when addressing current issues in society?
- To what extent can spirituality influence a peaceful living together and healing of memories in CEE?
- To what extent are there links between a particular kind of spirituality, nationalism and xenophobia?
- What kind of spirituality leads towards cross-cultural ministry or hinders it?
- What are spiritual practices (liturgical, ritual, cultural) in a particular area of ministry?
- What is the role of spirituality in further developing mission studies in CEE?
- To what extent is spirituality explicitly lived out, when it comes to the responsibility of local churches in witnessing Christ in the larger society?
- What is the role of spirituality in cross-generational ministries?
- What is the meaning of spirituality in ecumenical encounters in CEE?
To submit a paper proposal, please send an abstract of no more than 300 words to ceeams@gmail.com by 25th of November 2018. Abstracts should provide a brief description of the work, clearly outlining the theoretical perspectives and methodology to be applied in the paper.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 8th of December 2018.
Selected papers may be elected for publication in ACTA MISSIOLOGIAE, the journal of the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies.
Conference papers should be restricted to 20 minutes of presentation time.
Dates of the conference:
Arrivals: Tuesday 19th February 2019, the conference starts with supper.
Departures: Friday 22rd February 2019, the conference ends with breakfast.
Transfer to Osijek
In case you travel by plane, we kindly request that participants plan their arrivals at Budapest Airport on Tuesday 19th February 2019 by 14.00 at the latest, so that we can organize transfer to Osijek at a reduced price (max. 35 Euro one way), by car-pooling or by shuttle. Unfortunately, there is no direct Flixbus available on this day from Budapest.
Information on transfers from Belgrade (by bus) or from Zagreb (by bus or train) can be found on our website.
Departure 22nd February after breakfast. Plan your departure from Budapest Airport after 15.30 to be able to make use the Flixbus service from Osijek (about 15 euro one way, see www.flixbus.com).
Conference Venue:
| Evangelical Theological Seminary |
| Cvjetkova 32, PO Box 370, Osijek, Croatia, HR-31103 |
| Tel: 385-31-494-200 // Fax: 385-31-494-201 // Email: info@evtos.hr |
Language of the conference: English
Registration fee: EUR 35
Registration deadline: 1 February 2019
Accommodation:
Accommodation in single room, meals, and coffee break drinks and snacks: EUR 200
Accommodation in shared (two persons) bedroom, meals, and coffee break drinks and snacks: EUR 135
Scholarships:
1. For Conference Costs
Participants, especially those whose abstract will be accepted, may apply for partial coverage of the conference costs (in shared rooms). We request all scholarship participants a EUR 25 own contribution for food and accommodation. Only in exceptional cases full scholarships for conference costs are available.
2. For Travel
Travel expenses cannot be reimbursed, but exceptions to the rule will be considered. In case you request a scholarship for travel, you need to indicate the requested amount at registration, with an explanation. Only travel costs that are approved beforehand, will be reimbursed.
Please register as soon as possible using the following link:
http://ceeams.org/form-2/
Organizers:
Pavol Bargár
Anne-Marie Kool
Dorottya Nagy
Peter Penner
Ivan Rusyn
Vladimir Ubeivolc
Ruslan Zagidulin
Scott Klingsmith
For more information on the program, please contact:
Dr. Pavol Bargár,
CEEAMS Vice-President (bargarp@yahoo.com)
For more information on scholarships, please contact:
Barnabás Tóth
CEEAMS office manager (ceeams@gmail.com)