What can we learn from the Mutirao?

Oxley, Simon

The 9th Assembly said many things, most of which you can read in this issue of Ecumenical Review. They will guide the work of the WCC and, hopefully, inspire and encourage the whole ecumenical movement. The record of the assembly in image and sound as well as word is an essential tool for shaping the future. An analysis of what we can learn from the actual experience is also vital if the assembly is to be transformational. This article reflects on what we can learn from the mutirao from the perspective of a WCC staff member.

In the evaluations of the assembly we have received a great deal of positive feedback from those who participated in the mutirao. They spoke warmly of the opportunities to encounter, engage and reflect. If there was a criticism, it was of too much choice. Each participant's view of the mutirao would be different as each would have had their own set of experiences. This article can give an overview and some analysis but it cannot convey those deep moments experienced by individual participants.

The WCC has a habit of adopting words from the host culture as a title for activities in major events. There is always some discussion as to whether this is a respectful use of the word. For the Harare assembly, for example, we used padare to describe workshops offered in a themed programme. As the planning for the 9th Assembly began there was talk of officinas--workshops. Many thought that this was too prosaic and that we needed a word which had a more creative and dynamic feel and one which would include many different kinds of activities. We found this in the word Mutirao and added a sub-title 'Coming together to make a difference'.

The brochure described it thus:

 The word mutirao comes from a Brazilian word meaning a meeting
 place, an opportunity to work together for a common purpose, a
 space to discuss and argue with each other in building a common
 dream. In Brazil, for example, people in poor communities sometimes
 "make a mutirao" to build a house together. They ensure that there
 is the needed expertise on how to build a house and then the
 community joins in to work together to realize a common, concrete
 objective.

 The mutirao at the assembly will provide a space for reflection,
 celebration, and exhibits. A full programme will provide a rich
 array of offerings on many different issues, organized by churches
 and related organizations in all parts of the world.

One of WCC's aspirations for the 9th Assembly was that it would be an ecumenical formation experience for participants. My own interpretation of that was that it should be more than an opportunity for participants to learn about the working and concerns of the ecumenical movement in general and the WCC specifically. It should be an opportunity to become ecumenical in their understanding, sympathy, relationships and commitment, leading to ecumenical action. If you like, participation in the assembly would be a process of conscientisation--a concept WCC learned from the great Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, when he worked with us. We could say that without conscientisation there cannot be transformation.

The mutirao was a space that surrounded and was within the programme for the assembly delegates. It was not simply the visitors' programme of former assemblies nor was it a workshop and exhibition programme as in Harare. It did include such elements but was more. The detailed planning for the mutirao was undertaken by a Geneva staff team in close collaboration with a Latin American working group and the local organizers so that there was a strong input from the regional context of the assembly as well as a global dimension. This partnership was successful in both the preparatory stages and in Porto Alegre to a degree for which we had not dared hope. One of the keys to this may be that the WCC's lack of capacity to do everything meant that we had to trust our partners rather than control them.

We invited people to apply to offer workshops in the mutirao. The purpose of these was to explore an issue using participants' experience rather than to promote particular organizations. Agencies and issue-based networks were quick to respond, probably because they were accustomed to doing so for events like the World Social Forum. Others required some prompting in order to fill gaps that we identified. It was noticeable that churches per se did not tend to offer workshops even though they were invited. In Porto Alegre several church representatives remarked that they could have made a contribution had they thought about it.

Our philosophy was to offer spaces for workshops and let the organizers do them in their own way. However, we were proactive in requesting those who offered the same theme to work together on a joint workshop. This set up some positive collaborations between people who had never worked together before. Unfortunately, some could not rise to this challenge. We asked people to think beyond panel discussions and powerpoint presentations to wards more creative and engaging styles. As well as encouraging an emphasis on participation rather than presentation in the workshops, we asked organizers to indicate the potential for the involvement of youth. One response was that youth would set up the room--moving table and chairs was not exactly what we had in mind!

In Porto Alegre participants were confronted with a workshop programme that engaged with almost every area of concern to the ecumenical movement--the challenges that confront humanity and those specific to the churches. It would not be very informative to list all the themes of the workshops but that information is available should anyone be interested in doing some research. The most frequently addressed single issue was HIV/AIDS. As the evaluation sheets for these particular workshops indicated very similar outcomes about the needs and the involvement of the ecumenical movement, we might draw the conclusion that we should have reduced their number by further mergers. However, to have done that could have been to reduce the focus on an area that presents deep theological and humanitarian challenges.

The largest number of workshops were on offer at lunchtimes each day when most people, delegates included, were free to attend. There were also a smaller range of workshops running parallel to most plenary sessions. The majority of workshops were full to overflowing and the evaluations produced indicated that almost all were highly participative. Most of them were held in a large building composed almost entirely of seminar rooms. This eased organizational logistics and made it simple for participants to locate their workshop. Equally importantly it gave the psychological focus of a common open space in which there were many more focused spaces.

The variety of workshop themes was reflected in the mutirao exhibition space which was well-situated outside the plenary hall. This area was a space of gathering before and after sessions which meant a high level of engagement between exhibitors and other assembly participants. It could be said that the exhibitions as such were not so significant as the opportunity they created for conversation. Display panels and leaflets may inform but are unlikely to transform. Talking to those responsible for exhibits, there was excitement about the encounters they had had with the other participants.

Following the daily morning prayer, the delegates and other representatives were involved in Bible study and reflection in small groups. The mutirao was faced with having to provide Bible study for a considerably larger number of people in the plenary hall and two lecture theatres. Portuguese and Spanish speakers each had their own sessions. For the English (plus other languages) Bible studies in the plenary hall, there was an initial temptation to plan a series of lectures. However, we were able to bring together a denominationally and regionally diverse group of facilitators. Their experience enabled us to use the space in a way that imaginatively engaged the participants through the use of music and video clips as well as the spoken word and set up an interactive small group process in the hall.

A similar challenge was faced in the plenary hall for the three mutirao ecumenical formation sessions which took place at the same times as the Ecumenical Conversations in the programme for delegates. While the workshops were mainly focussed on the work of the ecumenical movement, these sessions were planned to help participants understand ecumenism and develop their commitment to being ecumenical. We developed a participative process which created opportunities for participants to reflect on their own ecumenical experience and listen to one another. Three case studies were offered that illustrated different forms of ecumenism, uniting churches and ecumenical social action. The sessions were facilitated by four young women which is an interesting statement in itself.

It is often the experience of large events that series of things like the mutirao Bible studies or the ecumenical formation sessions see a drop off in attendance as time goes on. This was not our experience in Porto Alegre and is an indication of the value participants placed on the possibility for interaction they provided.

In the first part of each lunch break there was an event called Bate papo, meaning to chat with. This evolved evolued from realizing that we would have on campus several well-known personalities. Participants would welcome an opportunity to listen to them outside the programme of the plenary hall. However, as we looked at the list we saw older people, mainly men. How could we honour the intent to make an assembly with an accent on youth? If we included some young adults in this list, would participants come to listen to them? The concept of the Bate papo came as we recognized that we could set up a series of conversations between younger and older ecumenists. This format proved to be creative.

There were many dedicated spaces in which people could gather. One of these was the Call Teologico (Theological Card). For some, especially those not familiar with the idea of an internet cafe, the concept was confusing. The reality was more straightforward. The Card Teologico was organized by the Brazilian Association of Theological Schools (ASTE) together with the Association of Ecumenical Theological Schools in Latin America and the Caribbean (CETELA) and the Ecumenical Bible Institute (CEBI). The Call did serve coffee as well as a series of book presentations and discussions with authors and round table conversations on theological issues. This space provided an ecumenical focal point for Latin American theological educators and drew in those from other regions.

In his report, the General Secretary spoke of the festa da vida--the feast of life. The mutirao cultural presentations captured that spirit. Music, dance and drama in various places on the campus offered another way of engaging as well as adding to the vitality of the assembly. In spite of the ecumenical movement's concentration on the cognitive in our discussion and conversations, we should never underestimate the power of the affective and experiential in forming us ecumenically.

Working on the mutirao was one of the best experience I have had in my ten years with the WCC. It gave an opportunity to work with WCC colleagues whom I knew but had never worked with before. One hopes that this really will be the style of the post-Porto Alegre WCC. It was enriching to be with the volunteers from Brazil and the rest of Latin America, the WCC interns and the stewards who together made the mutirao work. At the end of assembly debriefing we held for the stewards, I was touched by the deep way the mutirao experience had affected them. The enthusiastic response of the participants to the mutirao was humbling for all we had done is create the space for them to use.

What can we learn from the experience of the mutirao? I want to make nine comments out of my own reflections.

1. The mutirao demonstrated the potential of creating space for people to experience, relate and learn together. The space does not need to be controlled but it does need to be structured so that it is open and creative. In the mutirao, participants demonstrated a responsibility towards one another in their discourse. The WCC has an important global function as an ecumenical space-creator.

2. The mutirao demonstrated a commitment and vitality in the ecumenical movement which the institutional WCC has not always reflected. I felt excited and energized, as did many others, by the mutirao and I hope that it will have the same effect on the WCC as a whole. The WCC needs to use the methodology of the mutirao to continue to draw on and encourage that vitality.

3. The mutirao demonstrated that having limited resources can open the way to creative partnerships. Having a sufficiency of resources can lead of a mentality of having a sufficiency of thinking--an attitude that says 'if you want to work with us you have to do it our way'. We could not have provided the mutirao without real and trusting collaboration with partners. It was a richer experience for their thinking as well as their labour.

4. The mutirao demonstrated that we need a holistic approach to ecumenical formation. The power of the ecumenical movement comes from people who are engaged, excited and committed. Transformation requires inspiration as well as information.

5. The mutirao demonstrated that young adults can exercise enabling skills and offer leadership to all generations and not just their own. Ecumenical formation is not just the young learning from the old but the old learning from the young and all learning together.

6. The mutirao demonstrated how with imagination one can overcome the physical constraints of rooms and halls to produce creative and involving sessions. Just because a room was designed for someone to speak to an audience sitting in front of them does not mean that we have to use it only in that way. The limitations are not of bricks and mortar, chairs and tables but of our imaginations.

7. The response to the invitation to offer workshops, exhibitions and cultural events indicates that we need to do more work on involving the churches on a future occasion. The mutirao would have been the richer for more church participation alongside agencies, networks and the like. Expressions of regret by church representatives on an opportunity missed may be forgotten. The WCC should remember.

8. There was criticism that the mutirao did not influence the formal assembly. As a statement of process that is true. From the beginning we had tried to stress that participation in the mutirao in whatever way, by offering workshops and events or by attending, had a value in itself- that this kind of participation is the way the ecumenical builds itself up and sustains itself. However we had also planned some strategies by which insights could be fed into the formal assembly. The only one that really functioned was a wall by the plenary hall with messages 'From the mutirao to the Assembly'. How effective that was is open to question. One of the creative strengths of the mutirao was its freedom and openness. Had it been tied more closely to the formal assembly programme, each workshop and other event would have been subject to the controls, the checks and balances that were applied to the plenary sessions and Ecumenical Conversations. There is, anyway, a question as to whether the real strength of an assembly lies in the decisions and statements it makes or in the effect its whole life has on the delegates and through them on the churches. This is an issue that will remain with us.

9. The self-criticism I would make is that I fear that participants went away from the mutirao with many undifferentiated experiences, ideas and challenges--each one interesting and exciting but all jumbled together. They may have returned home with good ecumenical 'travellers tales' of people they met and things they learnt. Enthused but confused. What we did not do, as we all too often do not, is to give participants opportunity to reflect on their experiences together, to integrate and internalise them. I think that this is particularly serious in the light of the assembly theme--God, in your grace, transform the world. Transformation does not happen simply because people have new experiences, learn new things or meet new people. Something has to happen to integrate those to transform ways of knowing, relating, acting and believing. We should not arrogate to ourselves the work of the Holy Spirit but we should use the wisdom we have to create the right spaces for transformation to take place.

Sometimes I think that our understandable seriousness and 'ecumenical correctness' draws the life out of the ecumenical movement. The joie de vivre of the festa da vida, if it is permissible to mix languages, is not always apparent. So the final word should be given to the participant who wrote about one of the mutirao workshops. After commenting on the creative and relaxed atmosphere and the participation of people of different ethnicities, gender and position, they wrote, "A lot of laughter--the ecumenical movement can be FUN".

Simon Oxley was co-moderator of the WCC staff group responsible for the Mutirao.