Our roots are found in the charismatic renewal, a worldwide movement of renewal in all Christian churches, which started at the end of the sixties and quickly grew to about 300 million Christians of all denominations and confessions. They experienced being filled with the Holy Spirit in a new way, as described in Acts 2:1-4. To know God personally and to experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in daily life become vivid realities.
Many Christians who had this experience meet each other in prayer groups. But worldwide communities have grown out of this movement, wanting to live a committed Christian life with other brothers and sisters. The Jerusalem community is part of an international association of 55 catholic and also ecumenical communities in more than 20 countries, called ‘The Sword of the Spirit’. In Europe there are communities in Belgium, England, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Poland … but also in North and South America, in Asia and Australia we have sister communities.
The Jerusalem community was founded in the seventies when Steve Clark and Ralph Martin came to work in Belgium with Cardinal Suenens. When they started to pray regularly together with a few American brothers and sisters in Uccle (Brussels), it didn’t take long before many other people joined them, not only from Brussels, but also from Flanders, Wallonia and the Netherlands, and also many foreigners which were living around Brussels. A community was born and in a very short time it grew in numbers, and also in diversity.
In 1979, we received the name Jerusalem. At that time, the leaders were Tony and Colette Rowland, who were a living image, an icon, of the community. In fact, Tony is English, Colette is French, they lived in the US, their children are American citizens and they lived in Belgium for a while.
Just as in their marriage, there was a great diversity found in our community and the Lord is challenging us to discover the richness and each one of us has to offer and to overcome our prejudices and our fears.
The name we received, Jerusalem, expresses our call to unity and to peace, in the midst of so many differences. In the beginning, the Word of God invited us to let our love for one another dominate our lives.
Jerusalem just celebrated its 27th anniversary. During 27 fruitful years, many things have changed, but God’s message always remains the same: unity, love and confidence in Him. The Jerusalem community, which statutes are officially recognized by Cardinal Danneels, Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, is led by a team of eight men and women who, in fraternal love and great confidence in God, have accepted this service.Professor Michel T’Joen, dean of Ronse, acts as the Cardinal’s representative.