wfn.org | LWF Council in Wittenberg, Sign of Solidarity with Flood Victims

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

LWF Council Meeting in Wittenberg, a Sign of Solidarity with Flood
Victims
Interview with LWF President Krause on Major Concerns During His
Term in Office

HANOVER, Germany/GENEVA, 8 September 2002 (LWI) - The 2002 Meeting
of the Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) takes place
as scheduled, 9-17 September in the Luther's city of Wittenberg,
Germany, a region that recently experienced heavy flooding
following heavy rains.

"We understand this year's meeting as an expression of solidarity
with the people affected by the flood waters," LWF President,
Bishop emeritus Dr. Christian Krause said in an interview with
VELKD Informationen - the information office of the United
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD). There had been
considerations to shift the venue to Berlin but the Wittenberg
partners said the meeting could go ahead as planned.

The 2002 meeting is the last full gathering of the current LWF
governing body before the July 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly in
Winnipeg, Canada. Krause, retired bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Brunswick, Germany, underscores the
confessional profile of the LWF. This is an ongoing concern for
many churches, as Lutheran identity is important for their own
conception of themselves. At the same time, this identity
determines their path to the greater communion of the [LWF], which
in turn leads them into worldwide ecumenism. "It is only in
Germany that some believe that confession contradicts ecumenism,"
Krause remarked.

Krause's current term as LWF president will end in Winnipeg. He
was elected at the Ninth LWF Assembly in Hong Kong, China in 1997.
In the interview with VELKD Informationen he assesses his term so
far. He considers the pastoral dimension of this office as very
important, and recalls visits to LWF member churches. The
inter-confessional relations were no less important. Krause
singles out the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
(JDDJ), signed in a festive celebration by the LWF and Roman
Catholic Church on 31 October 1999, as "important, but not always
an easy phase" during his time in office. He points out that one
must take into account the fact that the JDDJ is the only
inter-confessional dialogue that applies on the global level. But
it is regrettable that a few months after the celebration in
Augsburg, the Vatican paper "Dominus Iesus," again called into
question the mutual recognition as church. This document "did
great damage," Krause said.

Nevertheless, the LWF president maintains a positive perspective.
The JDDJ created a "new basis" in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic
relations. "We interact with each other with much greater openness
than before, and with a clearly strengthened will to communion."
But there are still many open unresolved questions in the dialogue
with the Vatican. For Krause, the most important issue is an
agreement on joint Holy Communion, or at least permission for
Protestant Christians to attend the Roman Catholic Eucharist as
guests: the reverse has been practiced in the Protestant church
already for over 20 years. It is Krause's hope that "the JDDJ can,
and must, have a positive effect in this issue."

Asked if the JDDJ would be followed by a "Joint Declaration on
Holy Communion" Krause responded: "I am not willing to make any
predictions there, because the situation involving various
theological issues is complex. The issue of the Eucharist is tied
up with ecclesiology, the teaching of the church, and the latter,
in turn, depends on the understanding of the priesthood. That's
one big theological package."

The full text of the interview follows:

VELKD Informationen: Mr. President, the Council of the Luther
World Federation is meeting in Wittenberg for its last full
gathering before the Assembly in 2003. Does the choice of this
particular venue, which is closely associated with Martin Luther's
Reformation, also reflect a hidden message, a desire to show a
more Lutheran profile?

Christian Krause: This Council meeting was actually meant to take
place in Jerusalem, as was last year's meeting. We felt it was
important to hold a meeting there together with our Lutheran
sister church and member church in Palestine, and thereby give a
sign of solidarity and community. Unfortunately, in light of the
political situation in Israel and Palestine, we were not and still
are not able to turn these intentions into reality. I regret to
say so, because this type of Council meeting with many people from
around the world also creates its own special atmosphere that has
a beneficial effect on the member church in question. In 2001, the
meeting was moved at short notice to a hotel near Geneva. In order
to avoid a repeat of this "splendid isolation," I spoke with
Bishop Dr. Hans Christian Knuth, chairperson of the German
National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation, and Axel
Noack, Bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Province of Saxony,
to inquire whether the Council meeting could be brought to Germany
and take place at a location like Wittenberg, which holds such
great meaning for the Lutheran Reformation. I am grateful to both
for their immediate positive responses.

With regard to the location, however, the following should be kept
in mind: Wittenberg does not currently belong to a Lutheran World
Federation member church. Although the church province of Saxony
is part of the Evangelical Church of the Union which largely stems
from Lutheranism but was not able to envision joining the LWF.
Only the Evangelical Church of Pomerania, which is also a United
church, took this step already years ago. Viewed from outside the
country, Protestantism in Germany is considered tantamount to
Lutheranism, which is not necessarily the case from a local point
of view. If, in contrast, we look at the former German emigrant
churches in Latin America or southern Africa, for example, we see
that today, with a few exceptions, they belong to the LWF as
member churches representing their individual countries. The same
is true for the churches all over the world that were established
as a result of German Protestant mission work. For many of our
member churches around the world, their confessional profile
amounts to an existential question. For example, there are small
churches that exist among other religions, or churches that are
surrounded by a wide variety of other denominations, such as in
the United States, and therefore the Lutheran identity is
important for their own conception of themselves. At the same
time, this identity determines their path to the greater communion
of the [LWF], which in turn leads them into worldwide ecumenism.
Rather than living out their confession only for themselves, they
want to share it with others in the worldwide communion of
churches. It is only in Germany that some believe that confession
contradicts ecumenism. The truth of the matter is that the
churches of the world find their way to ecumenism via the Lutheran
communion or also via the worldwide Reformed communion, and via
their confessional identity. If the gathering in Lutherstadt
("Luther's city" of) Wittenberg encourages the LWF community to
enhance its ecumenical and global profile, I can be but pleased.

The flooding of the Elbe River has caused a catastrophic situation
along its banks, and Wittenberg has also been affected. Is the
Council meeting in danger of being cancelled?

The Council meeting can take place as planned. There was, in fact,
discussion of moving it to Berlin, but our partners in Wittenberg
have given the green light. This way, we will also see the meeting
as a sign of solidarity with the people who suffered in the
floods.

The meeting in Wittenberg offers us the opportunity to make the
LWF work even more well known in Germany. After all, it is the
German churches in particular that provide strong financial
support to the Federation. What does the LWF mean to its member
churches in Germany?

It's true that without the funding from Germany, the LWF today
would be barely able to stay afloat financially. This demonstrates
how the scales have tipped. In past times it was the opposite: the
assistance that German churches received from the LWF kept them
alive. We should not allow this fact to be quickly forgotten here
in Germany. Even today, the LWF is the largest church-based
refugee assistance organization, with approximately 5,000 men and
women working around the world. This is because at the time of the
organization's establishment in 1947, every seventh Lutheran was a
refugee. That was the situation at the time in Europe, and
especially in Germany. Lutherans then were among the first people
worldwide to extend a helping hand beyond their own borders. Their
work grew into an institution, the LWF, which was established in
1947, even before the United Nations or the World Council of
Churches.

Today, the Lutheran churches in Germany are no longer materially
dependent on the LWF, thanks to their financial resources. Of
course, as in the past, they still benefit from their integration
into a worldwide communion and from exchange with other churches.
The latter is, in fact, the most effective form of protection
against provincialism.

The German churches, and not only the Lutheran ones, have partner
churches around the world that also are LWF members. This means
that considerable amounts of direct assistance, including aid for
the partner churches, are provided through the LWF.

Does provincialism pose a threat to the churches in Germany?

We have to be careful to ensure that we don't withdraw into
ourselves. I have seen on many different levels that increasing
emphasis is being placed on bilateral contacts, and that
congregations and churches are focusing their attention on their
partnerships. This trend, which in and of itself is good, becomes
problematic when churches' communal action declines as a result.
This applies to the international agencies just as much as to the
[Protestant Church in Germany] EKD's Social Service Agency or the
Church Development Service (EED). Especially as pertains to the
latter, we have seen that the amount of funding coming directly
from the churches has greatly declined, not because they are not
giving, but because they are putting the money into bilateral
assistance. Everyone's talking about globalization. The churches,
who are certainly among the eldest "global players" of all, should
not miss the opportunity to maintain worldwide solidarity with the
weak.

The theme of the next LWF Assembly in Winnipeg is "For the Healing
of the World." What is meant by this in concrete terms?

Allow me to respond with some questions: What do we need in
today's world? What are our shortcomings, hopes and aspirations?
When we think along these lines, we quickly arrive at the term
"healing." One of the reasons why Winnipeg, Canada, was chosen as
the meeting location is because it was in that context that the
questions were developed, finally leading to this theme. It was
there that we saw the great ecological dangers threatening Canada,
which are caused by the enormous dams, the drilling in the search
for additional oil sources, and the construction of pipelines.
People are feeling the terrible consequences more strongly than
ever before. One example is colonization, which brought with it
the plight of the indigenous peoples, the reservations, the
destruction, and the threat to identities and cultures. Add to
that September 11, which has caused an enormous loss in personal
security and the self-confidence of being the sole superpower.

In this context, a yearning for healing means the healing of
wounds in places where rupture is the norm and where the danger of
further injury exists. This theme can be developed on many
different levels. This is where the core of the gospel comes into
play, which is also the core of the Reformation churches, and thus
also of our Lutheran world communion: we live thanks to the grace
of God alone, who shows us through Jesus Christ a way to healing
and trust in His mercy.

What type of signal do you think could be sent from Winnipeg?

That the yearning for salvation and healing is not a utopia. That
a real sign of hope can emerge from the Assembly communicating
that such healing is possible if we trust in God's mercy. That
would be the global signal to project externally. The internal
signal for the member churches would be to strengthen our own
communion across borders. We can see that a growing percentage of
humanity, and thus also of the LWF communion lives in the southern
hemisphere, among the world's poor. If this could be the signal to
project internally, namely that we take responsibility for one
another, and a joint signal of peace, justice and hope, then both
are important: to radiate the message out into the world, and to
project strength and encouragement towards the inside.

Your term as LWF President will come to an end in Winnipeg. If you
were to make a preliminary assessment of your term in office, what
would you say were the most significant aspects?

The pastoral dimension of my office has been very important to
me-visiting the member churches and the people who make up their
congregations, listening to them, taking time to discuss and
consider with them the things that move them the most, and
consoling them. The LWF President can also bring an important
message to them, particularly the small churches, and that is,
"You are not alone." You belong to this communion of people who
are prepared to take responsibility for one other. During my
visits, I was welcomed with unbelievable hospitality. It showed me
that no matter where in the world I was traveling, I came home in
the knowledge that this is my church, and it is also our spiritual
home. And this was beyond any and all national or ethnic
boundaries.

It was particularly the smaller churches that took advantage of
the opportunity provided by the LWF President's visit, for
instance in Central Eastern Europe, to hold important discussions
with their governments, and in the process continue repositioning
themselves within these countries in the post-communist era.
Discussion topics included the compensation for buildings and
property, the issue of prison and military chaplaincies, and
religious holidays, but also built in, was a repositioning, both
in opposition to and alongside the Roman Catholic church in these
countries. To give you another example, difficult topics in
Indonesia included the situation of Christians there and the
possibilities for inter-religious dialogue in the world's most
populous Muslim country. For me, this is the most important
aspect-the opportunities for a global communion to serve as a
mediator, especially for the smaller churches: to make it possible
to act jointly, and to help to achieve understanding, even in
cases where tensions have arisen within the Lutheran churches. It
gave me great joy to carry out this ministry.

No less important to me were inter-confessional relations. The
ratification of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification came while I was in office, on 31 October 1999 in
Augsburg, Germany. At that time, as president, I was privileged to
reap the harvest of a 30-year long dialogue, even though in 1998
it did not look like it would come to a positive conclusion. Just
after the Vatican's initial reaction, I had to bring the process
to a halt, because I couldn't find any basis in the decision that
would have justified my signature. The struggle to achieve
agreement on the main contentious issue that served as the spark
for Luther's Reformation was an important, but not always easy,
stage in my time in office. But it was worth it.

The ratification of the Joint Declaration in Augsburg raised hopes
throughout the world that it would see the opening of a new
chapter in the dialogue with the Roman Catholic church. How do you
assess the current status of the Lutheran/Roman Catholic debate at
the global level? Were people's hopes for this Joint Declaration
justified?

I think we have to take a long-term analysis. What was achieved
was not putting an end to something, but rather creating a
beginning, a platform from which people can continue to discuss,
and do so in a more relaxed manner than in the past. We also have
to take into account the fact that the Joint Declaration is the
one result of inter-confessional dialogue that applies on the
global level. However, it is regrettable that a few months after
the meeting in Augsburg, the Vatican document "Dominus Iesus,"
again called into question the mutual recognition as church, for
which we had struggled before the signing. "Dominus Iesus" did
great damage. The Joint Declaration critics, almost all of whom
are in Germany, saw the paper as a validation of their negative
stance. In my view, however, my assessment remains that the Joint
Declaration has created a new basis. We interact with each other
with much greater openness than before, and with a clearly
strengthened will to communion. I could also clearly sense this
during my visits, in Poland, for example. None of this should be
underestimated.

Of course, many questions still remain unanswered in the dialogue
with the Roman Catholic church, and now we have to address them
together. I think the most important issue is an agreement on
joint Holy Communion, or at least permission for Protestant
Christians to attend the Roman Catholic Eucharist as guests: the
reverse has been practiced in the Protestant church already for
over 20 years. The situation in Germany, however, is unique. It is
the only country that has approximately equal numbers of
Protestants and Catholics. That means that there are hardly any
German families that are entirely Protestant or entirely Catholic.
Co-existence is an existential issue. And that is why it is also
justified that in our country in particular, there is such great
pressure to come to a solution. This is an issue where the Joint
Declaration can, and must, have a positive effect.

You mentioned Holy Communion as a main issue. Will the Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification be followed by a
Joint Declaration on Holy Communion?

I'm not willing to make any predictions there, because the
situation involving various theological issues is complex. The
issue of the Eucharist is tied up with ecclesiology, the teaching
of the church, and the latter, in turn, depends on the
understanding of the priesthood. That's one big theological
package. Work should and must also be done on that, but it will
not be earth-shaking. I would like to take another approach and
ask about the pastoral ministry. I hope that we can put a strong
emphasis on that and envision a greater role than in the past for
the pastoral dimension, spiritual welfare and care for
individuals. In this context, Holy Communion is a critical topic.
For pastoral reasons, the Lutheran churches decided to invite
Roman Catholic Christians as guests to Holy Communion, because one
thing became clear to them: Christ is the host.

We still need to arrive at common positions of the Christian
witness, for example as regards the limits and possibilities of
genetic engineering, or with respect to social issues. Greater
agreement has to be achieved in this area to allow the gospel, in
which both churches have their roots, to shine even more brightly.

(The interview was conducted by Udo Hahn, VELKD media
spokesperson)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest suh as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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