The Church of Finland hosts Global Partners Consultation on mission and partnership
The theme of the consultation held by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) with its partners from 31 March to 4 April this year was “Your Kingdom Come.” The consultation brought together more than 35 partner churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, ecumenical organizations and mission societies to consult on partnership and mission in a globalized context.
The prophetic dimension of the church
The gathering was organized to strengthen cooperation among the partner churches and to give them the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face in mission today, the organizers said.
“Understanding the public dimension of the church will lead to an understanding of its local, national and global ‘citizenship,’ thus providing ways to address the people in the pews,” said Rev. Martin Junge, LWF General Secretary, in his address to the conference. “The cross of Christ is a reminder of this prophetic dimension,” Junge said. “There is still a widespread self-understanding of the Christian faith as something that applies only to the private, inner sphere. How relevant can such a church be?” he asked. “Especially in the European context, one can still observe hesitation and difficulty in using the concept of mission and sometimes even in engaging in mission,” Junge said.
Partnership in mission
Several LWF member churches were represented at the consultation. Church leaders shared their reflections on partnership and mission from the perspective of their own context and welcomed the opportunity to come together in a global consultation.
Rev. Berhanu Edosa Ofgaa, General Secretary of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, emphasized the need for partnership among churches in reaching out to those “who have not yet heard the gospel.” “Partnership means helping one another, bearing one another’s burdens and joining hands in mission,” he said. Referring to Martin Luther, he stressed the need to “go out and tell the good news to all.”
“Christianity is about faith and hope, and we await the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. I hope that God, who is bringing his kingdom, is already on the way, already in motion. The Kingdom of God is coming and is present.” As a representative of a different cultural setting, Rev. Tadahiro Tadeyama, President of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, described a similar approach to witnessing in a minority situation. “The church possesses an encouraging word, the Word of God.
Mission is needed by those who are hungry for hope. The Word of God can give this hope. We must tell people that this is what we offer them.” – “In Japan, less than 1% of the population are Christians,” Tadeyama added. “The Kingdom of God will be realized by inviting more people into the Christian church.”
“In our world there are many interpretations of the Bible,” said Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. “We have the challenges of poverty. We have questions of justice. In my view, it is very important to understand that we have one mission, one that is meant for empowerment, transformation and reconciliation. If we are able to embrace this, we can make a difference,” said Younan, LWF President. “For us, LWF partnership can be defined only as accompaniment,” said LWF General Secretary Rev. Junge.
“In a time of fragmentation and breakdown of communication, our ability to work and stand together as partners in mission becomes an eloquent witness to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our hearts.”
http://www.lutheranworld.org/news/general-secretary-junge-cross-christ-calls-advocacy
Photo: The Lutheran World Federation/Marianne Ejdersten/WCC
Translated from English by LELBāL pastor Ieva Puriņa
Proofreader Mag. Theol. Milda Klampe