wfn.org | LWI 2008-062 Leadership Urged to Take Seriously Young People's Involvement in Church Life

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Leadership Urged to Take Seriously Young People's Involvement in
Church Life
Churches Challenged to Meet People Where They Live 

GREIFSWALD, Germany/GENEVA, 3 October 2008 (LWI) – "We want to
and we are able [with God's help] to change the Church, and to
move forward our parishes. Just use us. Give us a chance." This
was the appeal of a Polish youth delegate to a regional
conference of Lutheran church leaders focusing on the common
challenges in church and society. 

Ewa Issel-Cieslar, a member of the Evangelical Church of the
Augsburg Confession in Poland, challenged the bishops, presidents
and other representatives of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
member churches in Europe to take seriously young people's active
involvement in church life in order to ensure hope and a future
for the Lutheran church around the world. She emphasized the need
to include the youth in decision-making processes as early as
possible, and endow them with responsibilities that prepare them
for a future as church leaders. 

The 11-16 September European Church Leadership Consultation in
Greifswald, Germany, focused on the theme "Called to Grow, Lead
and Nurture." It was organized by the LWF Department for Mission
and Development and hosted by the Evangelical Church of
Pomerania.

The 22-year-old urged participants to reach out to young people,
and invite them to take part in meetings and other events, and
also provide a good example for them in faith and life. Failure
to involve them, she added, could lead to the departure of young
people from Lutheran churches to other church groups, as was
already being experienced in Poland.

>Emigration

On the challenges facing Lutheran congregations in Poland, the
religious education student explained that emigration, especially
of young people, posed a great burden on Poland’s Lutheran
congregations. This was all the more since Lutheran Christians
were a minority in the country. "When your parish has 20 members,
every single person, especially a young one emigrating makes a
difference," she remarked.

She attributed the non-involvement of young Poles in the life of
Lutheran congregations and poor church attendance also to the
little attention given to their ideas and suggestions, making
them feel unwelcome. "If this continues, Poland’s Lutheran
church should not be surprised if the young people leave to join
independent churches where they are greeted 'with arms wide
open,'" she added.

With a view to her country’s development since the political
changes in the late 1980s, Issel-Cieslar pointed out that
building a democracy with strong leadership personalities posed a
significant challenge. "The Church may be involved in this
process through education and Christian upbringing. Lutherans
with their ethics, work ethos and tradition of education may take
part in this process," she continued, pointing out that the
Polish church had declared 2008 as the "Year of Christian
Upbringing," signifying their responsibility for the country and
its future.

She said that while living in the diaspora "forces people to
search for their own identity," belonging to a minority, however,
opened up the possibility of sharing a life of faith together and
confessing this faith together. "People are interested in what
the Lutheran church is, and why we are not part of the Roman
Catholic Church," she said, pointing out that this often led to
an intensive exchange.

Life in the diaspora has convinced Lutherans in Poland to make
use of new means of communication in their work, noted,
Issel-Cieslar. "More and more parishes are using the Internet and
have their own Web sites and forums. There are counseling
possibilities through the Internet. Sunday worships are also
transmitted via Internet. These are some things which we young
people really appreciate," she added.

>Denmark: Secularization 

Reporting on the challenges facing the Lutheran Church in
Denmark, Bishop Elisabeth Dons Christensen, Ribe Diocese,
southwest Jutland, said secularization of society and the loss of
religious values, traditions, and rituals posed a great challenge
for the Danish church, which comprises 82 percent of the
country's population.

Dons Christensen explained that a growing apathy in society with
regard to church-related matters added to these difficulties. It
was, therefore, important that one meets people where they live.

"We and our church members must be deeply anchored in our own
faith. We must find peace there, as only with this peace can we
find the strength to meet people in the places that they live,"
said the Ribe diocese bishop. She singled out work with children
and young people as particularly important, in order to
communicate Christian values and religious knowledge as early
possible.

The ability to inform others about the Christian faith in clear
and simple words takes on considerable importance, and would have
consequences for pastoral training as well, she added. (778
words)

>*        *          *

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