ROM & EDI Regathering 2022

The goal of this event was to come together to renew  old friendships and form new ones, share and receive encouragement and  new vision and motivation in bridging divides and serving the needs of  their communities, and to talk about how to apply the principles of ROM  and EDI to current challenges.

We heard from a number of ROM and EDI speakers from  past years. Anthony Cordle spoke on our identity and purpose and Jesus’  identity and purpose. He also challenged us to examine our friendships:  “With whom are you intentional in your friendship? Whom have you  articulated it to? Ask each other how you are with God, spouse, children  and keep each other accountable.” He continued the following morning  speaking about the gift of forgiveness and sharing from his own rich  life experience.

EDI Director Justin Kagin spoke about the Love  Economy – specifically how the modern system of banking and debt  enslaves impoverished individuals, families, and nations.

Maarten van der Fliert, General Director of ECPM spoke about faith  and politics in the EU - how to live out our faith and principles in a  divided Europe.

Former ROM Director Tihomir Kukolja on how we can be salt and light in divided and turbulent times.

We learned a lot from an inspiring panel with two journalists  (Noemi Mena Montes and Sylvia Vrinceanu) and two women involved politics  (Kristina Nano and Mihaela Kovacs) on how we can bring about change in  our communities through small steps.

A highlight of the event was breaking up into groups by country to  discuss what we see as the greatest challenges facing our countries and  brainstorming ideas of how we can respond to them. The challenges were  similar in the countries that presented their ideas afterwards: lack of  respect for others and the environment; corruption and nepotism;  division, lack of reconciliation, toxic leadership, and much more. While  none of these problems have simple solutions, our group did have a few  ideas - education (we had quite a few educators in our midst), top down  and grassroots approaches, and starting with ourselves and our families  and communities, among others.

We took time in the program to honor the memory of Allen Belton,  who was an integral part of every ROM gathering from 2001 to 2017. His  sense of humor, warmth, and unconditional love are greatly missed.

On the final morning, Alan Cutting spoke about what Jesus, a friend  of tax collectors and sinners, can teach us about friendship. He  pointed out that Jesus' disciples became his friends because he poured  himself out to them, not because he received from them.

And ROM Director Bojan Ruvarac concluded the event with an  encouragement to the participants as they returned home to continue to  grow their friendships and find ways to work together to live out Jesus’  principles in their communities as they address challenges and  injustices.

We hope that ROM Regathering participants will return to their  communities as bridge builders and peacemakers, and help bring unity to  communities divided along ethnic, religious, or socio-economic lines.  Our time together reminded us that while our communities face many, many  challenges, change is possible. Through the power of friendship and  working together, we can bring about changess, if we start with  ourselves and those closest to us in our sphere of influence and  remember the power of small steps.