17.10.2013. Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, representatives of the LWF’s European member churches agreed to strengthen their efforts to be a strong voice of hope, advocacy and diaconal service.
“The European LWF member countries, as part of the global communion, understand that their advocacy is not confined to the European region, and they see several important issues in the global communion that need to be highlighted and supported,” 40 leaders from 24 member churches of the region stated in a declaration following the consultation, which was held from 30 September to 2 October.
“We are concerned about the situation in the Middle East, which challenges our churches to continue praying for peace, and about climate change, which affects us all, but especially the poorest and most vulnerable,” they noted.
The consultation, which was convened to continue work on LWF themes and issues, brought together council members and advisers, representatives of national committees, ecumenical workers and the network of the LWF Women in Church and Society (WICAS) regional coordinators. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland hosted the meeting, which was organized by the European desk of the LWF Department for Mission and Development.
The church leaders received the document “From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017”, published by the Lutheran–Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, to encourage a common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
They shared possible plans for the celebrations, including 14 animated stories about the Reformation from Hungary and Denmark, “Luther beer” and Lego bricks for “building” Luther sites.
The leaders of the LWF member churches also highlighted the continuing need to cooperate and to be in dialogue between Roman Catholics and Lutherans, and the importance of joint work for the renewal of the church and for common witness in a secular society. They emphasized the need to be informed about the LWF’s plans and instruments for the commemoration of the 2017 Reformation anniversary.
Learning from one another
Expressing gratitude for the independence of the churches, the meeting affirmed the importance of communion and partnership between the larger and smaller churches of the region and the common desire to learn from one another.
In his address, focusing on “claiming the gifts of community in a fragmented world”, the General Bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, Dr Miloš Klátik, pointed out that the LWF member churches have a responsibility both as autonomous churches and as members of the communion.
“We are called to walk together with one another, to assess the complex consequences of church decisions, and to promote cooperation and bridge-building,” said Klátik.
Full participation of women
Speaking about the Gender Justice Policy, which the LWF Council adopted in June this year, Rev. Ulrike Hansen of Germany, the WICAS coordinator for the Central Western Europe region, said that the document serves as an instrument for the communion and its member churches to achieve equality between women and men and to promote justice and dignity.
“The Gender Justice Policy is grounded in the Bible and in theological views. Today’s question is – how to move from the presence of women to the full participation of women,” said Hansen.
The participants encouraged the study and discussion of this policy.
Intervening on behalf of immigrants
In the regional discussions at the Helsinki meeting, LWF Council member Ms. Dagmar Magold of Switzerland noted that the churches of Central Western Europe face a great challenge in being able to help immigrants and refugees.
“The churches intervene on behalf of these immigrants, but very often society reacts critically to the reception of these people. We work together with other groups in society, but it is hard and exhausting work – to persuade society to get involved,” Magold said. “In the near future, the churches will have to deal much more intensively with demographic changes.”
The Hungarian bishop Dr Tamás Fabiny, LWF vice-president, said that in Central Eastern Europe the challenge is to maintain the church’s presence in society, but he added that the Reformation celebrations can help, because they require the churches to define themselves as Lutheran.
Relations with the state
The presiding bishop of Norway, Helga Haugland Byfuglien, emphasized that for the LWF member churches in the Nordic region, relations with the state are a central issue, alongside the role of the church in a secular society.
“Large churches must define their specific functions in a secular and pluralistic society,” she said.
The Helsinki consultation was the first meeting of church leaders from the LWF’s three European regions since May 2012 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Translated from English by Ieva Puriņa, Mag.Theol., LELBāL deacon
Proofreader Mag. Theol. Milda Klampe