Lutherans and Muslims Assess Tsunami Disaster Relief, Plan Cooperation LWF President Hanson Speaks of Signs of Hope at Seminar on "Dialogue in Life"
MEDAN, Indonesia/GENEVA, 7 July 2006 (LWI) * Muslim and Lutheran leaders from Asia have affirmed diversity among religious leaders, the importance of dialogue to discover common and universal values, and the need to act.
Meeting 18 months after the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami disaster, 85 Muslim and Lutheran leaders from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand*the countries the most severely affected*affirmed the harmony of Christians and Muslims in response to the tsunami, and the importance of local leadership in directing that response.
The representative from Sri Lanka was unable to attend the 27*30 June "Dialogue in Life" seminar in Medan, which was organized by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Mission and Development (DMD), and hosted by the LWF National Committee in Indonesia.
Addressing the seminar, LWF President, Bishop Mark S. Hanson, said Christians and Muslims share the responsibility to preserve life beyond the members of their own faiths.
Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), stressed the need to "walk with people who are suffering" and to be part of the humanitarian effort involved in rebuilding lives and homes. He reassured the Muslim participants that, in keeping with international standards for humanitarian assistance, the LWF did not proselytize or try to convert disaster victims from Islam to Christianity in exchange for its help. "We cannot work together in a relationship of trust unless we first know each other through dialogue," he said. "We build relationships by learning more about each other," he noted.
Recommendations from the seminar included forming a local continuing committee of Christians and Muslims in Aceh and Nias that would develop an action plan to address the needs there, and a proposal to build upon the network of relief agencies already created in the tsunami-affected region and around the world.
The participants listened to a series of presentations exploring Christian-Muslim relations from the perspective of each religion, both before and after the tsunami. They also visited Christian and Muslim communities in Aceh to learn from local leaders what still needed to be done and how that could be addressed.
Signs of Hope
The LWF President spoke of the "signs of hope" that he had seen during his current journey as well as others around the world. Inter-religious councils in Jerusalem, Rwanda and the United States of America were signs of hope, as were "truth and reconciliation" efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, he said. Hanson also talked about the LWF-operated Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, which mostly provides health care for Palestinians, the majority of whom are Muslim.
At a related event at the Nommensen University of the Protestant Christian Batak Church (HKBP - Huria Kristen Batak Protestan), HKBP Bishop Dr Bonar Napitupulu, noted that Indonesia had suffered natural disasters and social strife. He said Hanson's visit had given the people "strength to face all these realities."
The LWF/DMD Area Secretary for Asia, Rev. Dr Ginda P. Harahap, told the gathering that the size of the seminar and the visit to Aceh had given him hope. "I believe future programs will be just as full," he said, adding that the Christian-Muslim relationship had been strengthened in Indonesia. There are 12 LWF member churches in Indonesia, representing more than 4.3 million Lutherans. (564 words)
(Based on an ELCA News Service report.)
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
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