For over ten years, a Montenegrin family from Berlin has been supporting the work of the soup kitchens of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and the Diocese of Budimlje and Nikšić of the Serbian Orthodox Church. This support has been ongoing for a decade, and without distinction in relation to the different needs and scope of work of the four soup kitchens run by the Church in Bijelo Polje, Berane, Podgorica and Cetinje. These are people whose ancient origins date back to the area around Cetinje, and who today live and work in Berlin. God has given them a lot of good, and they share it everywhere with others, the helpless and the poor. In addition to the aforementioned support for soup kitchens, they also support other addresses, humanitarian projects similar to these, throughout Montenegro, without making any distinction between social status, ethnic or religious affiliation, regional areas (places of residence) of those to whom the support is sent.
I am personally acquainted with this family, whose host and other members wish to remain anonymous to the general public, but given that "Montenegro is small," the names of these people are not unknown to many citizens of our homeland. A good number of them know them personally or have heard of them closely, thanks to their efforts and interest in helping those in need, but also to the innate Montenegrin friendliness and hospitality towards those who are close to them on a human basis. In these circumstances, I became more familiar with their emotions towards their homeland and their ancestors, with their desire to live better here, to emancipate society, to have the circumstances of social life more advanced and more like organized European societies. The Montenegrin family from Berlin loves everything related to the Montenegrin past, to the identity of the people who live here, but is much more interested in the prospects and future of the people in our country.
And that these are not just some ideas and emotional ideals, is also shown by the fact that they support the humanitarian work of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, despite the fact that many are trying their best to oppose the adjectives "Serbian" and "Montenegrin" to the point of exclusivity today. That is why I am highlighting a fact that would otherwise be indecent to wave, because it belongs to someone's intimacy, and the right to free definition: their and my national definition, the name of their native language, and even the experience of religion and church life - they are different. And again, that does not prevent us from being long-standing friends. If we did not live in a crazy time of activated highest levels of mutual hatred and intolerance, the previous sentence would be almost out of place, and this is how it looks like an episode from a science fiction movie. For me and my acquaintances, it is still more fantastic than scientific.
We have different views on many aspects of Montenegrin society, and they have been particularly visible during the past turbulent 6-7 years of recent history, but we agree on one thing: let's leave divisions and differences behind us, if we think we are building a more just and functional society for life. Montenegro cannot tolerate national frictions under the roof of one family and one brotherhood, nor translators within the same language that we speak so that we understand each other perfectly. Unlike declarations, proclamations, chapters, political programs and coalitions, the emergence of the "Montenegrin family from Berlin" is characterized by the motto of acting immediately and now - without delay; immediately - regardless of differences and circumstances. And so we have come to a situation where the funds of these people from abroad are distributed among vulnerable people throughout Montenegro, in the form of material assistance (and often one-time, non-refundable assistance for medical treatment) by us priests and believers, for whom, in addition to their job description and ideals of faith, entering the homes of those whom many (sometimes even those closest to them) have forgotten.
My acquaintance and friendship with the family from Berlin in no way affects the proverbiality and transparency of this undertaking. Namely, since the beginning of our cooperation on the humanitarian project, both parties have been working administratively precisely: at any moment, the soup kitchen management knows how much money they can count on in the coming year (and these funds are not small, or rather, these amounts are the most that someone individually gives for the work of the soup kitchens), just as the people in Berlin know how and how much these funds are spent in all four mentioned cities where the church soup kitchens operate. Despite all of the above, the philanthropic efforts of this family do not end with helping the Church - because they also help other humanitarian addresses. Nor do the soup kitchens of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and the Diocese of Budimlje and Nikšić work exclusively with help coming from Berlin - because there are many other donors to their work. The space for involving others - thank God; the troubles we constantly get into - unfortunately; they invite us to follow such examples and to color tomorrow with new hope.
One of the definitions of repentance, in a spiritual sense, is that it is essentially more a matter of the future than of the past. That is how I would define reconciliation, fraternization, moving beyond misunderstandings and divisions. What was - was, but let's see what we will do tomorrow? Will we bequeath our divisions to our descendants, or will we leave them the space to see each other as people? My friend from Berlin, although he seems to me to be an agnostic, often knows how to say about someone who makes a mistake and with whom he disagrees: "God help him." It would seem - an old saying. However, I do not believe in empty words. Everything we say carries a message. If we do not currently identify with it, if it is not a sign of our beliefs, it can still be a message from the past of our ancestors. When, out of habit or tradition, we say their greetings, we (as if in some time capsule) convey their wishes and greetings, not to the present and to us tomorrow. So, may God help us, if we have any relationship towards him (ecclesiastical, traditional, questioning...), but with that faith and desire, may the work and sacrifice of the Montenegrin family from Berlin be an example for us, which does not delay and does not spare the help of its "own hands". That would be something that Christian culture calls "active faith", or what Njegoš would say: "Hope has no right in anyone, except in God and in his own hands".
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