We all know pit stops from car races. But did you know that since 2013 regular and special events have taken place under the title ‘Pit Stop’ in Augsburg/Southern Germany?
In May, Initiatives of Change (IofC) hosted one of these evenings for the very first time. It was a time for listening, learning and discussions. Guest speakers Monica and FolkerMittag shared lively insights into their personal life using the basics of Initiatives of Change (formerly known as Moral Re-Armament/MRA), such as quiet time, sharing and obeying God’s guidance in everyday life.
During his career, Folker used to enjoy a warm welcome from IofC friends at the airports he travelled to. These experiences reflected life within a network of people sharing similar convictions and helped to understand cultural differences in various countries. The audience opened up and questions were asked, when Monica talked about her Swiss family (who has been involved with IofC/MRA even since before she was born), MRA’s four absolute standards (Unselfishness, Honesty, Purity and Love), listening to God and writing down thoughts to remember them.
Folker also talked about his life after retirement and his involvement in different areas, like the Caux Initiatives for Business (CIB) where he has been actively involved since 2005. He said retirement gave him the possibility to say ‘no’ and to do what he had been hoping to do for a long time.
Time passed very quickly but once the ‘official part’ of the evening was over, many participants used the opportunity to dig deeper into those ideas they had just heard about and to think about what this would mean for their personal life.
The following morning Monica and Folker joined our weekly Friday Quiet Time with local businessmen. Some of them wanted to put into practice what they had heard the previous evening. Hopefully, this will mark the beginning of more IofC events in Augsburg where businessmen (like the people we were able to meet that night) can learn how to apply the basic ideas of IofC in daily life.
Report and photos: Heinrich Pick