Churches' Mission among Roma

Sylabus

Proposed course outline:

1. Introduction to “Roma issue” today and challenges for European Churches

2. History of European Churches’ involvement with the Roma

3. Analysis and comparison of various European Church traditions responses

4. Revivals in Gypsy communities and their characteristics

5. Mapping Roma ministry in your country

6. Biblical Theological perspectives relevant to Roma ministry

7. Holistic mission and evangelism

8. Relevant lessons from worldwide mission movement like principle of indigenization and pilgrim principle

9. Education as tool in transformation of Roma and of majority (church) society

10. Dialogue, storytelling and research: recover the story of Roma with substantial contribution to their Christian communities.

Anotace

Contact teaching takes place in weeks: Nov 3-7, Nov 10-14, Dec 8-12, Jan 12-16.

The twelve million Roma (Gypsy) are a very diverse group, considered by many as one of the most important political, social and humanitarian issue facing Europe today, 70% of them living in Central and Eastern Europe.

For many, the Roma generally are viewed as a dynamically fast growing group, living in deep poverty, socially dependent, difficult to integrate into school systems and notorious because of violating the law. They remain far behind others in education, employment, access to decent housing and health. The Council of Europe

Commissioner for Human Rights recently released a report in which was stated that they are still denied basic human rights. Their average life span is shorter and infant mortality rates are higher compared to other groups. His aim was to encourage a discussion on what must be done in order to put an end to the discrimination and marginalization and to foster their social inclusion.

Although the Roma arrived in Europe five centuries ago, only in the 1990ies, parallel to the developments in the

EU European mainline Churches gained an interest in Roma inclusion. In the meantime, almost invisible to the traditional churches, a revival is taking place among Gypsy communities in France, Spain, but also in Bulgaria, resulting in transformed communities.

How did and do European Churches respond to the “Roma issue”? In what sense were they able to present hope to the Roma living at the margins of our societies? Although many Roma children are baptised, their presence in the churches is very limited. Our relation to them is mostly characterized by fear, abstention and withdrawal.

The present course will seek to illuminate the changing perspectives of the European Churches’ ministry among the Roma today. In particular, attention will be given to the analysis and discussion of issues such as Images of

Roma in church and society today, Major challenges for the churches related to the Roma, History of European

Churches’ involvement with the Roma, including the holocaust, Analysis and comparison of various European

Church traditions responses: human development perspective, human rights perspective and antigypsyism perspective, Revivals in Gypsy communities, Hindrances in ministry among the Roma, holistic mission and evangelism, Characteristics of Roma cultures, Relevant lessons from worldwide mission movement,

Biblical/Theological perspectives, Dialogue and storytelling and others. These issues will be discussed from a ecumenical, missiological perspective.

The objective of the course is to help students analyse, compare and evaluate past, and present perspectives of the European Churches’ ministry among the Roma, and of some particular contexts and offer them tools to understand the contours of a missiological theoretical framework for Roma ministry.