A 'New Europe'?

Schloss Mittersill is full of reminders of the circular pattern of life: the coming and going of community members; leaves falling from the trees in the castle garden, soon to be replaced by snow, and then by new buds in the spring; the sounds of our children laughing as they thump down these old corridors—children growing up before our eyes. These things remind us that the challenges we face, others before us have faced—and our children will face when we have gone. Life is full of change, and while change may bring difficulties, it also presents us with opportunities.

The past century has brought intense turmoil to European society and culture—two world wars and the communist era have left people searching for meaning and purpose. Today’s Europe is a ‘post’ culture. Post-Christian Europe breeds cynicism about faith, and rejects the Gospel as archaic—irrelevant to modern society and enlightened individuals.

Post-communist Europe is full of those who have rejected Marxism’s humanist dogma, but are left with a void that is rapidly being filled by materialism, corruption, and hopelessness. Post-modern Europe has rejected rationalism and Enlightenment-inspired attempts to create a better future, and is spiralling into nihilism and hedonism.

Anything defined as ‘post’ is by its very nature in transition. Since it has no clear identity of its own, it is defined by its past. What shape will Europe take when it stops defining itself by its past and looks to its future? Can the gospel of Jesus Christ once again be a transforming influence?

When the Apostle Paul set foot in Europe, he paved the way for countless others who carried the story of Jesus across the continent, establishing communities of believers and shaping culture in post-Roman Europe. In the twenty-first century, Schloss Mittersill is a place where followers of Jesus are trained and equipped to be agents of cultural change, returning to their home countries and allowing God to use them in the shaping of a new Europe—one life at a time.

- Jonathan Wiles

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