Visit to the European Parliament

On Thursday I was privileged to attend a conference on Women & Spirituality at the European Parliament. This was my first time to this government building, and I felt privileged to attend. I went with one of my students, Maria, whose husband is affiliated with the EP and actually got the invitation! I just got to tag along and observe.

This conference was a mix of dialogue with people from all cultures and faiths. Delegates mainly represented Europe, but every religion possible including Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, Islam, B'hai, Buddhism, Sikh, Hindi, Humanism, and others! (I was probably the only Pentecostal Christian in the room!) 

One interesting thing that you begin to observe and hear in the messages is that all are searching for peace and ways to end suffering in the world. How do you do that? By giving a place for religion in society. Now, each have their way by which this place must be attained, but the one message that I gained from this conference is what I already knew: Every soul on this planet is on a quest for something, but only God can truly fulfill our longings. Of course, when you are in a multi-religious group of people, you hear "God" spoken many times, and each one has his or her own connotation of who God is (and being in a room of women, God was referred to as "she" several times!), but the need for a higher being to be in our lives is within all of us.

I pray that freedom of religion remains, as spirituality is an expression of our souls. However, I also pray that Europe find true peace, that I believe, can only come through Jesus Christ: the way, the truth, the life.

Enjoy some photos of the conference: