wfn.org | LWI 2009-038 European Lutheran Churches Seek New Forums for Dialogue

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European Lutheran Churches Seek New Forums for Dialogue

Common Struggles and Opportunities Despite East-West
Differences

BUDAPEST, Hungary/GENEVA, 10 July 2009 (LWI) - Lutheran churches
in a Europe divided for decades by the Iron Curtain have got to
know each other since 1989 "in ways previously unforeseen."
However, they need "new ways and spaces" to discuss the critical
questions they face, concluded the participants of a Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) consultation held in Budapest on 26-29
June.

"While churches may not always be able to arrive at clear
answers, the very process of struggling together with the
questions can be a helpful contribution in society," the LWF
member church representatives agreed in a final message from the
meeting.

The consultation on "Church and State in Societies in
Transformation" examined the relationships between church and
state that have emerged in Europe since the fall of communism.

>Regional Commonalities

The participants noted that, "in spite of significant
differences which still exist between East and West," Lutheran
churches across the old divide share many things, "both positive
and negative." 

All churches in Europe, they stated, "struggle to bear witness
to the faith they confess in new political and economic contexts,
and amid increasingly diverse populations." 

Meanwhile, they noted that there are new patterns of state
"neutrality" towards churches. Some states not only provide
financial support, but also expect churches to do more in their
societies. 

>Opportunities for Witness

Participants underlined that church numbers may have declined,
but interest in spirituality and values in European societies has
increased, bringing new areas for outreach.

"God has upheld the churches in many of our countries through
painful times of oppression, persecution and declining numbers
and influence," they said. God continues to be active throughout
Europe, in "communities of faith" that are "doing new things,
through new people who are bringing new signs of life," and
"through new opportunities for diaconal work and participation"
in the wider society.

"As Lutherans we especially discern God’s presence through a
theology of the cross," the message emphasizes. God is glimpsed
through weakness and vulnerability. "Here we need to learn from
and reach out to immigrants from other parts of Europe and
beyond, to hear their voices, perspectives and the yearnings they
bring."

>Symbolic Meeting

The gathering at the Evangelical Lutheran Theological University
in Budapest took place 25 years after the 1984 LWF Assembly in
Budapest, which "served as a reminder of the political, economic
and religious situation existing in Central and Eastern Europe at
that time."

The consultation also coincided with commemorations in Hungary
marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the
Austrian-Hungarian border. In June 1989, the foreign ministers of
the two nations symbolically cut through the wire fence dividing
their countries. 

A few months later, Hungary allowed East Germans seeking to
reach the West to cross the border. This meant "people were free
to escape from oppressive, totalitarian regimes," participants
commented. 

>New Threats 

"Prior to 1989 churches in Central and Eastern Europe had often
provided the space in which discussion could take place in
tyrannical regimes," they noted. Since then, spiritual values
have been under threat from different "tyrannies," e.g.
consumerism and neoliberal globalization. The participants warned
that the churches themselves have been in danger of diluting or
abandoning the substance of the message they are called to
proclaim and live out.

The consultation was the culmination of a study begun in 2006 by
the Europe desk of the LWF's Department for Mission and
Development (DMD). The Budapest meeting followed workshops in
Moravske Toplice, Slovenia; Svaty Jr, Slovakia; St Petersburg,
Russia; and Leeds, United Kingdom.

A contribution by Stephen Brown, managing editor of Ecumenical
News International, who reported on the consultation for LWI.

>*        *          *

(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 79 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of 68.5 million. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and interfaith 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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