Swedish Hospitality

The deep blue lake shimmered in the morning sunlight. Running along the shore offered too many temptations of paths to follow and rocks to climb. The panoramic views around every corner took my breath away more than the jogging did. This is Sweden, one of the most beautiful and pleasant countries in the world. I hadn't been here in several years and had almost forgotten how absolutely lovely it is.

This was my only day off in a five-day schedule that involved speaking to a national pastors conference, lecturing in a seminary, and preaching in cathedrals. Following my usual routine, I found a gym so I could work out, and this one happened to be situated on a gorgeous lake with white sails crisscrossing against a horizon of rich green forests and magnificent houses, set into steep hills that sloped down to the water's edge. Doing bench presses and taking a sauna in front of large windows that look out on to this majestic and tranquil scene was a far cry from the sweaty cinder-block rooms I usually inhabit. I felt a long way from the inner city of Washington, DC.

I stayed, as I have in the past, with Margareta and Lars Inglestam, dear friends who have been at the heart of the Christian peace movement in Sweden and beyond. Margareta has lately been the catalyst in organizing a project called Global Peace Services, which proposes worldwide training in nonviolence as an alternative to military preparations and aspires to mobilize a nonviolent "army" -- an idea that Gandhi spoke of many years ago. Among many talents, Margareta has the gift of hospitality; staying with them is always a great delight and special blessing to a weary traveler.

THE SEMINARY OF the Swedish Covenant Church in Stockholm is a very lively place, and the students and faculty a deeply responsive group. We spent the day in reflection about the spiritual and political crisis facing the West and the kind of biblical visions that might point the way out. A young woman, who is the seminary's director of music, did a rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" that sounded so authentic I felt immediately at home.

The church's annual conference brought together hundreds of the denomination's pastors from around the country. There were young people, women, and old pastors in whom the fire of the gospel is still very much alive. I was surprised to learn how much Sojourners is followed in Sweden and the depth of kindred spirit I discovered among the people there. I felt very much at home.

Preaching in the cathedral services put me in touch with the Lutheran Church as well (it is the state church in Sweden). One particularly interesting time was an event focused upon first-time voters. It was the weekend of Sweden's national elections, and our topic was the issues and concerns Christians should bring to an electoral contest. At the center of the liturgy was an extraordinary youth choir.

At first, because I couldn't see the singers from where I was sitting behind the pulpit, I suspected that an American black church choir had been flown in especially for the event. I discovered instead that gospel music and African-American spirituals are so popular and well-known throughout Sweden that many church choirs and musicians have worked very hard to learn to do them well. Swedish singing groups have also done some fine recordings of South African freedom songs, and the influence of both movements have had a profound effect on this progressive Scandinavian nation. One evening, I took a very enjoyable walk to the Stockholm City Hall where Martin Luther King Jr. was given the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Sunday night, after the polls had closed, I rode with Margareta and Lars to Upsala where a number of Christians involved in justice and peace activities were gathering to watch the returns together. The evening was very enlightening and stimulating for me (I love to watch election returns) but proved to fulfill the dismal expectations of my Swedish friends.

The Social Democrats, who have governed Sweden for most of the last six decades, suffered a significant defeat along with all the parties that had aligned with them in the past. The Greens (the environmental party) lost the place in Parliament they had just won in the last election. And all the conservative parties experienced significant gains. A new upstart party called "New Democracy," which is populist and Far Right by Swedish standards, won an impressive victory by getting enough votes to enter the Parliament on its first attempt. (Sweden has a multiparty parliamentary system.)

Of course CBS News reported the election results as a "Reagan-style conservative victory" that had thrown out the socialists and repudiated Sweden's model of social democracy. But that is very misleading in a country where even the most conservative parties wouldn't think of dismantling the country's public health system or great social benefits.

There was, however, a feeling that the huge government bureaucracies had perhaps become too distant and impersonal -- entangled in people's lives and yet disempowering at the same time. The voter turnout was lower than it had been in years (85 percent), but is still almost twice the voting rate in recent U.S. presidential elections. I heard others say that the Swedish model had lost its vision and needed to regain the political and moral initiative. Because the conservative parties were the outsiders and critics, they captured the energy of the disaffected just as the Greens had in the previous election.

The trip home was uneventful until a power failure in New York City left me stranded at Kennedy airport until 3 a.m. Well, it gave me time to finish reading a novel and to think about what it would take to forge a new political vision and imagination right here at home.

Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners.