Diversity, unity, wealth - limits, the big dream and embodiment

Twice in the past 48 hours I have had conversations with people about Minna Hietamäki's excellent presentation to the Faith and Order Plenary Commission on How much diversity is Enough? Earlier this week we received a copy of Minna's book Agreeable Agreement to review for Ecumenical Review. Here's a short extract from her presentation to Faith and Order:

In the contemporary world when other cultures and traditions come to us through newspapers, television and internet and when we encounter diversity not only when travelling ourselves but also though the diversity in the cultures that exist in the place we call home, it is very easy to think of diversity as a kind of decoration for our aesthetic enjoyment on the surface of the essentially one Church. It is my perception that in my country, the standard intellectually enlightened person with a more or less positive sense of religion would, in general, think in this way. They would say that religions in general and churches in particular are essentially about the same thing and differences are nothing more serious than variety of configurations of “the same”. But if we say that the Church is “the body of Christ whose interrelated diversity is essential to its wholeness” (par. 3), this kind of decorative diversity is not enough.

Meanwhile here at home Dr B is getting better, slowly but surely we hope, and today he wrote something over on Open Source Ecumenism entitled"unity is strength but diversity is wealth". The quote is from Herman van Rompuy the EU Council president.
Reading Minna's article again and then Stephen's post I've been thinking about how the big dream of ecumenism is important in terms of focus but that it is how our institutions embody their professed ideals that will really impact their sustainability. Are there limits to the wealth of diversity? How do we embody the big idea's values while trying to tap in to the strength of unity and wealth of diversity?
In his post Stephen points to the value of the long view, slow rather than fast ecumenism I suppose you could call it. But embodiment takes time. Here's a short extract:

but maybe it is also important to take the "long view", to look down the line, to embody functions and mechanisms step-by-step, to take seriously the "wealth of diversity" rather than hiding behind a shield of unconvincing optimism - while at the same time identifying the issues and concerns around which the many interests and visions of the ecumenical movement might connect.

Churches and Christians prepare ecumenically for European elections

Various religious and church groups are trying to work ecumenically to put concerns on the agenda of the upcoming European elections. Ecumenical Voices' publication pictured here is available in three languages. The website has useful links to Climate Change and Environment, Peace and Development, Migrant and Refugee Protection, Poverty and Social Exclusion.

Meanwhile Ensemble pour L'Europe - Together for Europe have been organising meetings and events in various countries in the run up to the elections. Réforme, La Croix and other Christian media in France helped sponsor a day conference in Paris yesterday. The meeting brought together more than 25 Christian communities and movements from France and is linked in to a wider European movement of more than 150 communities and organisations.

Daniel Cohn Bendit and the end of the era of the superpower

There's an internview with Daniel Cohn-Bendit in Réforme. A member of the European parliament who is both French and German, a social democrat and a green, he speaks about how he sees the world as being currently at the crossroads between various crises - the economic and financial crises, the ecological crisis and the globalisation crisis.
In a fairly pragmatic way he says that the outcome of the recent G20 meant there was hope for future political action.
Anyway old 1968ers are not the only ones out arguing for their cause at the moment. Europe goes to the polls in just over 6 weeks time, to elect a new European parliament. What will the impact of the economic crisis be on the shape of the new parliament?