For the first time in its history, a one-week course was held on Religious Liberty and Public Affairs at the Faculty of Theology, Collonges-sous-Saleve campus in France on September 26-30, 2016. There were 13 Master of Theology students attending and Dr. John Graz was in charge of the courses.
The theme was: The church in the community. There were lectures on Relations with Community Officials; The Situation of Religious Freedom in the world; Public Promotion of Adventist Values; Events promoting Religious Freedom; How to meet officials; Relations with Religious Leaders; Adventists and Religious Freedom ... all of these alternated with practical exercises and tests. The Manual, The Church Ambassador, was used as the practical and basic resource.
Those invited were guest professors, pastors involved in Public Affairs and professionals. According to Dr Luca Marulli, Dean of the Faculty of Theology said: “ It is important that our ministers be able to meet officials in their communities and make sure that the churches is well known and effective in their community.” Jean-Philippe Lehmann, President of the Adventist Campus of Saleve, which includes the School of Theology said : “We want to offer courses and resources on Public Affairs and Religious Liberty to our ministers and elders to help our local churches be more visible and present in their communities. The proximity of Geneva and its World Human Rights organisations offers a large spectrum of resources.”
The church of Collonges which is also the church of the school, will hold its second Festival of Religious Freedom on February 4, 2017. The guest speaker will be Dr. Ganoune Diop, director of the General Conference Public Affairs and Religious Liberty. A number of churches in Western Switzerland have planned Religious Liberty Festivals, symposium and concerts as a way to build bridges with other religious groups and city officials.
