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LWF European Minority Churches Meet

Twenty-five representatives of European minority churches within the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) met 1-4 March 2001 in Rome, for a
consultation on the needs of European churches living in minority
situations. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy hosted the meeting.
Prof. Karl Schwarz from Vienna, Austria delivered the keynote address on the
subject "Church, State and Society in a Europe on the Way to Integration:
Observations from the Viewpoint of a Minority Church". Participants were
encouraged to exchange visits and share information regularly via the
Internet including concerns on"Church, State and Society", particularly with
regard to future European Union legislation. Participants noted that the LWF
would be asked to give consideration to the concerns of minority churches
when appointing a new area secretary for Europe and to strengthen his or her
areas of competence. Dr. Jan Szarek, retiring bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, will provide
coordination support to enhance cooperation among the minority churches.

On March 2, the consultation participants met with representatives of the
Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, and were guests at a reception
hosted by Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity. In the evening of the same day, an ecumenical
worship service was held, with Cardinal Kasper and Bishop BTla Harmati from
Budapest, Hungary, in the Church of Santa Maria della Pieta on the Campo
Teutonico in the Vatican.

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LWF Finance Director Moves to United Evangelical Mission 

Almost nine years since the day he joined the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF), Mr. Friedrich Manske bade farewell to colleagues he had worked with
as Director for Finance and Administration. Beginning February 2001, Manske,
58, became Executive Secretary for Finance, Administration and Resource
Development of the United Evangelical Mission (UEM), in Wuppertal, Germany.

An accountant by profession, and a member of the Evangelical Church in the
Rhineland, Manske started working as the head of finance at the LWF on 15
January 1992. As reported by Lutheran World Information (LWI) in its 9/1992
edition, he was to help put the LWF's finances in order, after several years
during which the income had "failed to cover budgeted costs."

This was a task he accomplished, said the LWF general secretary, Rev. Dr.
Ishmael Noko, at a farewell party for Manske in January. "He was a very good
steward of the LWF's financial resources", Noko added. "His stewardship
should be seen against the background of a very difficult time of changing
economic realities in Europe and the world. These changes of course affected
the income of the churches. Therefore I regard him as one of the best
finance directors the LWF has ever had."

Manske studied economics in Berlin and Mainz, Germany; and Innsbruck,
Austria, subsequently became an auditor and later an authorized
representative for the global chemical company BASF. Between 1975-77 he
provided advice and support in financial matters to the Church of Christ in
the then Zaire as a development aid officer for Overseas Services (Dienste
im _bersee), then moved to the Protestant Association for Cooperation in
Development in Bonn, where he was promoted to the position of deputy
director in 1986.

Manske is married, with three children.

The United Evangelical Mission is an international communion of 34 churches
in Africa, Asia and Germany, formed in 1996 for financial support, mutual
exchange of staff and experience.

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Searching for Vernacular Sermon

"Do we still use Latin in our sermons?" This was one of the questions
discussed by participants in an international conference of Lutheran
scholars of homiletics last September.

The 17 participants from Germany, the Nordic countries and the United States
reflected on what they hold in common as Lutherans, what distinguishes
research and teaching on preaching in their different settings, and what
they might pursue jointly.

Rev. Halvor Nordhaug from Norway, noted that "our sermons too often only
describe the gospel without giving it to the listeners. There is a lot of
talk about grace, love and consolation but not necessarily so much
distribution of the actual thing." Professor Michael Herbst from Germany
defined the Reformation "as a preaching event." This event was public,
experiential, missionary and contextual, he said. For Dr. Kerstin Wimmer
from Sweden, the crucial question that homiletics scholars should ask for
the sake of the world is "Are we prepared to search for relevant, meaningful
language, which can be understood also by people estranged from the church,
or do we stick to our Latin?" The participants emphasized the importance of
practicing one's preaching through greater awareness of all related aspects,
such as one's personality and life experience and that of the congregation.
(This material was provided by Rev. Dr. PSivi Jussila, Study Secretary for
Worship and Congregational Life, LWF Department for Studies and theology)

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Finnish Opera Stages Premier on Martin Luther 

The National Opera of Finland made history with its production on the
reformer Martin Luther. "Luther" was premiered in December 2000 in Helsinki.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland recently awarded the composer and
librettist Kari Tikka, the year 2000 cultural prize. The opening scene is an
invitation to "the dance of death." The scene unfolds with the monk Luther
confessing to a priest but finding no consolation. He cries out on the verge
of hell: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46) Luther's cry
does not remain the private matter of one historical figure but reflects the
struggle of people of all times. The audience is invited to join Luther as
he grapples with questions of freedom and guilt and of life and death by
singing some of his well-known hymns. As Tikka puts it, "Something is wrong,
when I am not free, even if I would like to be. Luther tried his best. He
wrestled with God but did not find peace before he realized that God has
already done everything for us. This is the starting point of Luther's
thinking. This is the starting point of my own faith."

The opera on Luther is currently being translated into English. It will be
performed in Minnesota, USA in October 2001. There are initial plans to also
translate the opera into German.
(This material was provided by Rev. Dr. PSivi Jussila, Study Secretary for
Worship and Congregational Life, LWF Department for Studies and Theology)

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