wfn.org | Tree planting marks Reformation Day

["Kristine Greenaway" <Kristine.Greenaway@warc.ch>]

>World Alliance of Reformed Churches
>News Release
>30 October 2009

>Tree planting marks Reformation Day

Twenty years ago tomorrow, Christians in the former East Germany
gathered in Wittenberg to celebrate Reformation Day at the church
where on 31 October 1517 Martin Luther is said to have nailed his
list of demands for reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Ten days
later, the Berlin wall fell and a new era of reform began in
modern-day Europe with repercussions felt around the world.

This year, celebrations in Wittenberg will feature a ceremony on
Sunday at which representatives of different branches of
Christianity will each plant a tree in the Lutergarten (Luther’s
Garden). The event signals the beginning of a decade of
activities which will culminate in 2017 with celebration of the
500th anniversary of Luther’s historic act.

Reformation Day is celebrated each year on 31 October in
remembrance of the Protestant Reformation. In the states of the
former East Germany it is a civic holiday and in Chile it has
been a national holiday since 2008.

The General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
(WARC), Setri Nyomi, will be at the ceremony with other church
leaders to plant a tree in the garden. 

The idea of the garden was inspired by words attributed to
Martin Luther. “Even if I knew that the world would end tomorrow,
I would still plant an apple tree today.” 

Commenting on the significance of planting trees, Nyomi says
that the 16th century Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin
were “bold agents of change such as a tree planted by water. The
periods of heat and drought have come and gone, but the ‘trees’
they planted continue to bear fruit.” 

Nyomi adds, “It is fitting that churches should plant trees as a
symbol of commitment to God’s creation at this time when world
attention turns towards the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in
December with its focus on the impact of environmental
destruction.”

Churches throughout the world have been invited to sponsor the
planting of one of 500 trees in the garden on the Elbe River and
to plant a tree in their home communities. The gesture is meant
as a symbol of the influence of the Protestant Reformation
throughout the world and as a sign of reconciliation and
interconnectedness among the many branches of Christianity.

Other church leaders invited to plant trees include
representatives of the Anglican World Communion, Methodist
Council, Lutheran World Federation, the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople.

The year 2009 has been widely celebrated in the Reformed church
world as the Calvin Jubilee Year in honour of the 500th
anniversary of the birth of the French Reformer, John Calvin,
whose approach to church reform took root in 16th century Geneva
and spread from there worldwide. 
Churches which follow the tradition of the Calvin include the
Presbyterian, Congregational, Reformed, Uniting and United, and
Waldensian denominations. The teachings of another of the great
Reformers, Martin Luther, inspired the creation of the Lutheran
church.

On Saturday, Nyomi will be in Augsburg to join in celebration of
the tenth anniversary of the signing of a joint declaration
between the Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran churches which
resolves a long-standing dispute over the theology of
justification. Justification marks the point at which a believer
is made righteous in the eyes of God. Debate over when and how
this occurs has long marked a dividing point between the two
church traditions.

In Augsburg, Nyomi will present a letter to Walter Cardinal
Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity and Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the
Lutheran World Federation, bringing greetings from the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches and noting the significance of
marking this anniversary in conjunction with Reformation Day. In
his letter, Nyomi acknowledges the day marks both movement for
renewal and the pain of division.  

Pointing to Reformed-Roman Catholic bilateral dialogues, Nyomi
writes: “It is our prayer that our bilateral dialogues will
continue to help us overcome division and lead towards greater
Christian unity.”

>***
>Contact:
>Kristine Greenaway 
>Executive Secretary, Communications
>World Alliance of Reformed Churches
>150 Route de Ferney
>P.O. Box 2100
>1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
>tel.  +41.22 791 62 43 
>fax: +41.22 791 65 05
>web: www.warc.ch ( http://www.warc.ch/ ) 
>e-mail: kgr@warc.ch
>