Hi Gaetan, please can you share us a little more about yourself?
I’m a Canadian who’s been living in Germany since 1991. My wife is of Asian origin, and we have two almost quadrilingual children. I wear three professional hats: I’m the 1) Permanent Representative of the WEA to the United Nations in Geneva, 2) the Chairman of the German Evangelical Federation network-m as well as Board Member of the Association of Evangelical Missions and the Political Commissioner of both at the German and European Parliaments, and 3) Missions Director of my Evangelical home church. All roles create an ideal confluence of synergies.
As the WEA Permanent Representative, I invest in relationship building with ambassadors, heads of state, ministers, high-ranking political representatives, and religious leaders which lays the foundation for a discreet solution-oriented dialogue (soft diplomacy). I mostly advocate on issues surrounding religious marginalization and persecution of Evangelicals, and invest in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and in the promotion of religious tolerance and societal cohesion – which at times invariably saves lives.
Can you give us an example?
We recently experienced insurgencies in a country that were fueled by Anti-Blasphemy laws and that resulted in churches burnt down and Christians – mostly Evangelicals – being killed. The national Evangelical Alliance requested the assistance of our office in Geneva. As we already enjoyed a relationship with the Ambassador in Geneva and with the executive Muslim leadership of that country, we could quickly engage. We traveled to that country, and began the planning of initiatives towards reducing extremism, amongst others the creation of Peace Committees and the holding of national Peace Conferences. We are also assisting the Evangelical Alliance in becoming a stronger national advocacy voice to its government and to the national religious leadership.
How can we pray for you?
Please pray for wisdom that I find mutually agreeable solutions in highly complex situations and utterly challenging, and at times life-threatening, environments. Point in case: one of my team colleagues was recently targeted for assassination, which was circumvented through the proactive intervention of the intelligence services. Please also pray for our finances, which pose a huge challenge as our work is time as well as travel intensive, and can seldom be disclosed in newsletters without endangering the process as well as the lives of the afflicted.
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