wfn.org | LWI News in Brief October 2001

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Videotape: Righteous Before God - An Agreement on the Doctrine of
Justification

The English version of the videotape "Righteous Before God - An
Agreement on the Doctrine of Justification," produced by Nightfrog
GmbH in Munich, Germany on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) in consultation with the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity (PCPCU), is now available. The 35-minute videotape
documents the signing ceremony and confirmation of the Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification on 31 October 1999 in
Augsburg, Germany, by LWF and PCPCU representatives. It also records
the historical background to the doctrinal dispute over justification
and the numerous dialogues and studies leading to the Joint
Declaration. The voices of many representatives of Lutheran churches
and the Roman Catholic Church recorded on the videotape, explain the
significance of justification in the present context, making it
accessible to people of today. The videotape was produced in
cooperation with the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting
Corporation) and with the support of the Evangelische
Darlehnsgenossenschaft eG (Kiel), Evangelische Kreditgenossenschaft
eG (Kassel) and the LWF National Committee in Germany. Copies are
available from Beatrice Bengtsson, The Lutheran World Federation,
Office for Communication Services, P.O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2,
Switzerland, Tel: +41.22.791 6368, Fax: +41.22.791 6630, E-mail:
bbe@lutheranworld.org. The cost is CHF 25, DEM 30 or USD 20 per
cassette.

*     *     *

Bishop Harmati, Cardinal Kasper Speak on Shared Holy Communion

Following the seventh meeting of the fourth phase of the
Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, September 4-11, at
Smidstrup Strans Denmark, commission co-chairpersons Hungarian Bishop
Dr. Bela Harmati and German Roman Catholic Walter Cardinal Kasper,
spoke to Denmark's church newspaper, Christian Daily of the
possibility of reaching an agreement between the churches on common
Holy Communion. For Harmati, it is for many people "a source of
despondency" that Lutherans and Roman Catholics "cannot go to
Communion together." Kasper told the daily "In the commission we work
step by step, but shared Holy Communion is, of course, the great aim.
Being together at Holy Communion is a heartfelt wish for all in both
churches." Kasper is concluding his service as chairperson of the
commission because of his new responsibilities as President of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU). He said the
situation is particularly acute in his own country, Germany, where
there is almost an equal number of Roman Catholics and Protestants,
among them many Lutherans. He noted that there are many marriages
across the different confessions, and it is disheartening when a
married couple cannot receive Holy Communion together in one of the
churches. From the outset, the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue 's
goal has been visible unity of the Church. The first phase of the
dialogue (1967-1971) concentrated on the Gospel and the Church. The
second phase (1973 - 1984) treated the Eucharist and the Ministry in
the Church. The topic of the third phase (1986-1993) was Church and
Justification. The focal topic of the present phase is Apostolicity
of the Church. During the September meeting, a Roman Catholic or
Lutheran Eucharist was celebrated each day. The next meeting of the
dialogue commission will take place in Wuerzburg, Germany, 30 August
- 6 September 2002, upon invitation from the diocese of Wuerzburg and
the PCPCU.

*     *     *

Christoph Kaehler, New Bishop of Lutheran Church in Thuringia

Christoph Kaehler, 57, is the new bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Thuringia, Germany. Elected for an unlimited period of
service, he was installed August 31 at a worship service in Eisenach
by the Presiding Bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Germany, Hans Christian Knuth. Kaehler called on churches to focus
their work more keenly on the challenges of secular society. Council
Chairperson of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Praeses Manfred
Kock, bade farewell to Kaehler's predecessor, Roland Hoffmann,
retiring after 10 years' service. Kock said collaboration now
beginning with the neighboring regional church in Saxony is a sign,
coming from the "heartland of the Reformation," of the growing unity
within German Protestantism. Thuringia Prime Minister Bernhard Vogel,
of the Christian Democratic Union praised Hoffmann's contribution to
a constructive relationship between church and state. Vogel said that
continued involvement of the church in politics and society under
Kaehler's leadership would particularly be welcomed. Kaehler, from
Freiberg in Saxony, studied theology in Jena and Greifswald, and
undertook scholarly research at the University of Jena until 1977. He
became a parish pastor and taught at the theological seminary in
Leipzig. In 1992 when the seminary became part of the University of
Leipzig's theology faculty Kaehler was made full professor. A member
of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) since 1947, the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Thuringia has 534,500 members.

(epd - Evangelischer Pressedienst [Protestant Press Service])

*     *     *

ELCA Presiding Bishop-Elect Hanson Installed

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) installed the Rev.
Mark S. Hanson as its third presiding bishop October 6 at Rockefeller
Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago. About
2,000 participants included the ELCA's Church Council and 65 synod
bishops, Lutheran bishops from around the world and other religious
leaders. Hanson, 54, was elected to a six-year term at the 2001 ELCA
Churchwide Assembly in Indianapolis last August. "When I was called
to this office on August 11, I began to look forward to October 6
with joyful anticipation," Hanson said at an October 5 news
conference. "That mood is now one of subdued joy, because of the
events of September 11." He noted that "the context of the church in
this nation and the world is quite different today than it was the
day I was called to this office. So, one of the major challenges
before us is to pay attention to how that context has changed."
Delivering the installation sermon, Rev. Heidi B. Neumark, pastor of
Transfiguration Lutheran Church, a bilingual church in the South
Bronx of New York City, challenged the ELCA and Hanson personally
several times in her sermon. "Mark, people will be watching your
feet-where you walk, where you visit, where you lead and where you
allow yourself to be led." Hanson assumes his new role of ELCA
presiding bishop today, November 1. He succeeds Rev. H. George
Anderson, 69, who concluded his six-year term October 31. The ELCA's
first presiding bishop, Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, served two terms
before retirement in 1995.

*     *     *

New Bishop for Pomerania Church in Germany

At a worship service in Greifswald Cathedral, September 16, Rev. Hans
Juergen Abromeit became new bishop of the Evangelical Church of
Pomerania. The 46-year-old pastor from Westphalia was installed by
Praeses Manfred Kock, Council Chairperson, Evangelical Church in
Germany. In his address, Kock stressed the importance of the
Pomeranian church on the eastern border of the European Union. Such a
position calls on the church to build bridges between different
systems and to work for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Abromeit urged the church to continue to partner in conversation and
counseling those people who distance themselves from it. The
Pomeranian synod elected Abromeit last May to a 12-year term,
succeeding Bishop Eduard Berger who last January took up a new
position in Saxony. Abromeit studied Protestant theology at the
universities of Wuppertal and Heidelberg. After serving as vicar in
Jerusalem, he taught from 1983-94 at the Faculty of Theology,
University of Muenster, Germany. He then lectured in pastors'
continuing education at the seminary in Schwerte, Westphalia. The
Pomeranian church joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1956. It
has 138,000 members.

*     *     *

EKD Document on Peace Ethics

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Germany's main Protestant
body, has called for political solutions to take precedence over
military action in dealing with civil wars, intra-state conflicts and
terrorism. In a major document on peace ethics published in October,
the EKD says that the nature of armed conflict has changed
fundamentally since the end of the Cold War at the beginning of the
1990s. The document was drawn up before the September 11 attacks on
the United States of America. But in a foreword written after the
attacks, Praeses Manfred Kock, EKD Council Chairperson notes that the
"struggle against terrorism should not be based primarily on military
means, but a combination of intelligence services, political,
economic, and possibly military means." Kock also takes issue with
the use of the word "war" in the struggle against terrorism. In its
new document, the EKD points to the number, intensity and length of
violent conflicts within states that it says have been increasing
over the past 10 years. The document was commissioned after the
Kosovo conflict in 1999, when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
took military action in Yugoslavia, saying it was necessary to
prevent gross violations of the human rights of ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo, a province of Serbia.

(Ecumenical News International )

*     *     *

Finland's Bishops Say No to Ceremonies for Same-Sex Couples

Following a Finnish parliament vote accepting a law on registration
of same-sex relationships, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
(ELCF) says it will not conduct ceremonies for same-sex couples. In a
statement, the ELCF bishops stress the difference between
registration and marriage, emphasizing that society must support
child upbringing that strengthens the relationship between a man and
woman. The marriage service and blessing of marriage are one way for
the church to support this relationship, the bishops say. Under the
proposed law, passed on September 28 by a 99 - 84 vote, same-sex
couples will be able to register their relationship with the civil
authority. Once registered, they will have almost the same legal
rights as married couples except the right to adopt and to a family
name. The law comes into force in 2002. However, the bishops say the
equal dignity of homosexuals must be respected in church and society.
Church workers are ready to deal with questions of homosexuality in
pastoral counseling. According to the statement, the Lutheran church
will require its workers to follow its traditional teaching. The ELCF
has 4.6 million members comprising 85 percent of the Finnish
population.

( ELCF Information Center)

*     *     *

KALME: Churches Cautioned Against Communication Budget Cuts

Church communications must not be sacrificed to budget cuts. This was
the call of theologian and journalist Gerhard Thomas from Berlin on
the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Communication Committee
for Lutheran Minority Churches in Europe (KALME). Despite the
churches' need to save money, this would be "exactly the wrong
decision" in a media-oriented society, Thomas warned the KALME
assembly and media consultation, held 14-19 September in Brenna,
Poland. He expressed conviction that "there is important work for
KALME to do today and in the future as Europe grows together." For
instance, in view of the fact that "communication has again become
the stepchild of many churches and the ecumenical organizations,"
KALME must raise its voice in protest. KALME brings together
media-workers from 22 Lutheran churches in Europe. The communication
committee, conceived in 1976, was founded in 1977 in Guestrow,
Germany. Its purpose among other things, was to serve as a bridge
between a divided Europe. KALME also aimed to make links between
large and small churches in Europe possible, and to serve as a forum
where media professionals and church leaders could meet. Participants
in the conference included archbishops, bishops and other Lutheran
church leaders from Estonia, Italy, Poland, Austria, the Russian
Federation and Slovenia, and delegates from most of the Lutheran
minority churches in Europe. KALME elected Baerbel Naeve from Italy
as its new president and Rev. Jerzy Below from Poland as
vice-president. The four-person presidium also includes Karin Denghel
from Romania and Jibbo Poppen from the Netherlands.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133
member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of the
64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its
member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development
work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material
presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of
its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the
notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

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