Lugano

Reflections on Lugano

I did not know what I had gotten myself into when I agreed to go to Lugano. I didn’t even know it was a Focolare event. I came because I like politics and I wanted to go to Lugano. No idea what the day was going to be like.

I know that this will be one of the things that I talk about when people ask “So what really great things did you do in Switzerland?” I will say, “I went to this amazing political rally for unity and then climbed the mountain in Lugano and saw the most beautiful scenery I’d ever seen in my life.”

I think that there were a lot of really good ideas that came from the different speakers. I wrote down a few quotes, (although because of my notes I am not sure who said what… oops). I think they give a good idea of what was talked about last weekend.

“Fraternite is based on the belief that first we are all part of the human family.”

“Democracy can only exist where there are differences.”

The Political Movement for Unity (MPPU) is looking for unity, but not ideological unity, rather unity in the belief that we are all doing our best and that we are all part of this human family. Therefore we should respect each other and try to find common ground rather than focusing on the issues that divide us.

I also found it interesting that the speakers brought up how the media is partly responsible to for the polarization that is killing politics today. The polarization leads to simplification which in turn leads to disrespect. If we do not respect our political opponents then we cannot govern effectively. I totally agree. From my own perspective, in the United States our government is more polarized now than they ever have been, and they are doing less work than ever before. My government cannot continue down this path of self-destruction. I pray that if this movement is not already strong in the United States that it can become stronger. (Which is something that I will work on when I head back there in December).

However, as much as I agree with the ideals put forth by the MPPU, I felt that they were just that, ideals. I do not know what this movement looks like practically. At the end of the day, even if we respect each other, we may come to different conclusions. When does MPPU decide to speak out against “injustice”? How do you do respectfully tell someone that you think they are creating a law that in unjust? How do you respectfully tell them that you think they are creating a law that hurts immigrants, especially when they think they are doing the opposite? How do you work with people when you fundamentally disagree? I felt like these questions were not addressed during that day.

However, I am very glad that I went to Lugano and that I stayed the night. I had not planned on staying the night. I was going to head back to Geneva Saturday evening, but I felt compelled to stay. God being good, provided a place for me stay, dinner for me to eat and a ride back to Geneva the next day. Even though I had not planned to stay, God had planned for me to stay.

Dinner that night was on top of the mountain in Lugano. We took a funicular train up to the top of the mountain. We got there just after the sun had sunk down but the clouds were still pink and purple and orange. Gorgeous. (Sadly, I don’t have any photos of my own, but a friend took lots!) Then we had dinner at the restaurant up there. The dinner was delicious, but more important was the conversation. We sat and talk about God. We talked about Focolare. What is it? What do you do? What does it mean? How does it work? We talked about other religions. We talked about the Eucharist. What is it? How does it work? We talked about our own experiences. We talked about our calling. We talked about God. That conversation will stay with me for a very long time.

I am grateful that I was in Lugano for this conference, even though I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I agreed to go.

Cultural Experiences

I have a few cultural experiences to write to share. One, happened on Sunday while I was at a friend's apartment here in Geneva. Both are from other parts of the world. I went over to just hang out, but then we decided to cook together because it was about that time. No plans, just cook what is in the fridge.

What do you have? I have some tomato sauce and some beef and an onion. Okay, we can make something with that. Let's put the onion in and then add the beef. No, you put the beef in first. No, you put the onion in first. No, the beef has to go in first to give the taste to the onion. Back and forth. Back and forth. Okay, now what do we add. Water, of course. No, oil. Why would you add water? Clearly, we need more oil. Just a little more water is good. Let's taste it. Ugh! It needs something else. It needs.. hmm... sugar? Let's add some sugar. Great idea! No. I won't eat it if we add sugar. Just a little. I promise it'll make it better. Are you sure? We NEVER add sugar at home. Oh, I always add sugar. Okay. Let's try it.

Eventually, we ate the dinner. It was pretty tasty, even with the sugar. I realized how simple we think cooking is. Even if I know that there are certain dishes that belong to our country, I don't think of the way that I cook as particularly "American." I just cook the way I learned at home, the way my mom taught me, the way her mom (or my dad depending on who you ask) taught her. I just cook. There is no intentional thought process. I do things because that is the way you do them. This experience cooking makes me wonder what other areas of my life are unintentionally influenced by my upbringing. I have much to learn about healthy ways to interact and share in intercultural dialogue. Cooking, which I take for granted, is an arena where I can learn and improve my intercultural experiences.


Another cultural experience that I had was on Monday during lunch. I have been hearing about this Focolare Movement. I have met one person that is part of their movement, but I didn't really know much about them. However, a large group of them came to the Ecumenical Centre on Monday. They live near here in Switzerland. I had the chance to have lunch with them. The group at our table was a group of young men from: Brazil, Uruguay, Italy, China and Uganda. Only two of them spoke English. The Chinese man and the Ugandan. There were two options for conversation:
1. Those that spoke English can chat together and ignore those that cannot speak English
2. Those that can speak both English and Italian can translate so that all can be involved in the conversation.

Although option two is clearly the more inclusive and more loving option, in similar situation I've been in option one has always been chosen. Talking amongst those that already speak a language is much easier than having an actual conversation among people who do not speak the same language. Perhaps occasional interpretation so that everyone can "follow" what is going on, but those that cannot speak English cannot really participate. Yet, on Monday, during lunch, Thomas, the young Chinese man did not even have time to eat his sandwich because he was interpreting for all of us (He was going from Italian to English and back - just imagine!). We answered questions about why we are here; what we do here; what motivates; we heard answer to questions about what they do; what the focolare movement is; what their purpose is. I am very intrigued by the idea. They are basically a group of people who are striving to live the gospel together. I am not quite sure what that means - but I would like to learn more. Hopefully I will get a chance to learn more when the Interns go and visit their house. It's not very far from here.

I was amazed at the effort and intentionality of our conversation. Although we were having a simple lunch there was an effort made to make sure that all people included and allowed to share their ideas and opinions.