Recap of the Europe Conference in Berlin, Germany. This intimate event took place in early July in a friendly and cozy hostel in the very heart of Berlin. The program on the theme “Living Faith” included numerous inspiring short talks as well as study and discussion groups. We also enjoyed beautiful music, sightseeing, delicious meals at local eateries, time for socializing and bonding, and a viewing of Richard Jernigan’s outstanding documentary A Feast of Uncertainty.

About thirty five people from many different countries attended. The largest numbers of readers traveled from Finland, Sweden and the USA, and other countries that were relatively well represented were Englandand Estonia. Among other countries represented were Denmark, Switzerland and Spain, and a handful of the Spanish speaking attendants that live in Europe were originally from South America. Although it took place in Germany, only three of the attendants were German.

All age groups were well represented, from college students in their twenties to those that have read the book since the 1960s. The organizers were of the younger generations and we prioritized keeping the conference inexpensive so that many people would be able to afford to come. Over half of the readers in attendance were under the age of forty, which is encouraging since younger people have tended to be severely underrepresented in recent decades at conferences in Europe and N. America.

Many thanks to Clemens and Esa who helped organize this event, the Fellowship’s Youth and Young Adult committee for providing several young readers with scholarship assistance, and the many priceless friends who attended and contributed in various ways to making it such a successful and uplifting conference! Attendants expressed that they felt it was a very rewarding and spiritually invigorating time and that, like myself, they hope that this is the start of a tradition of many wonderful periodic Europe conferences. I hope to see you at the next one!