wfn.org | Germany's United Evangelical Lutheran Church Efficient

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

Germany's United Evangelical Lutheran Church Efficient
and Cost-effective
Bishop Knuth Says Confessional Identity "Still Very Relevant"

HANOVER, Germany/GENEVA, 15 April 2002 (LWI) - Reacting to a
discussion paper on church structural reforms, the Presiding
Bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany
(VELKD), Dr. Hans Christian Knuth, says he is opposed to a
proposal calling for the dissolution of the VELKD, a union
representing 11 million Lutherans.

Knuth's position is detailed in a nine-page paper entitled "The
Shape of the Church Derives from its Mission - on the Structure of
Evangelical Churches in Germany." He was responding to a January
14 discussion paper by Dr. Eckhart von Vietinghoff, director of
the head office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover,
which suggested, among other things, that the VELKD be disbanded.

At its March meeting in Bad Segeberg, Germany, the VELKD Bishops'
Conference had announced that the union would take part in the
discussion on structural reform in the Protestant Church in
Germany (EKD), a body of 24 Lutheran, Reformed and United
churches. A "clear and united image" of the Protestant churches
must be presented to the public, but the Lutheran image must also
be retained, said the bishops.

According to Knuth, the various unions and federations - the
VELKD, the Evangelical Church of the Union (EKU), the Arnoldshain
Conference (AKf), the Alliance of Reformed Churches - assumes
responsibility for "necessary tasks," which would mean that if
these structures were eliminated, the EKD could not avoid taking
on more personnel. The changes being requested would not mean
economizing on resources so much as a shifting of activities.
Mergers into larger units and broader cooperation do not
automatically bring about savings of time and money. The
experiences which regional churches are currently having with
mergers and cooperation are not really showing any noticeable
savings, Knuth emphasized. Some of them even give the impression
that mergers cost more money and require additional coordination.

Knuth is also calling for responsible use of resources, and feels
that it is right to speak of "overly complex structures." But he
points out that the high concentration of decision-making bodies,
cooperation and need for coordination exists everywhere in the
Protestant church structure. "It is true that the many different
structures at every level present a confusing picture for
outsiders," he said, but noted that this in itself should not be
the decisive argument in favor of change, if the structure makes
sense from the inside.

For Knuth, the VELKD is a "relatively small and thus-in our
experience-flexible and adaptable structure, which, on a modest
budget of Euro 4.5 million, makes an important contribution to
cooperation." The costs, spread over eight VELKD member churches,
amount to, on average, less than 0.2 percent of the budget of each
member church, he continued. This, he noted, provides the churches
with many opportunities for joint work with a strong emphasis on
content including such issues as religious communities, evaluation
of ecumenical texts, proposals for new liturgies, joint
legislation and parish educational programs. He sees this
"effective form of cooperation among equal partners [as]
especially meaningful" for the smaller member churches, and adds
that the church unions, VELKD and EKD complement one another,
producing a "bringing together of resources, which actually
strengthens the EKD."

The VELKD presiding bishop is of the opinion that confessional
identity is "still very relevant." He says the real weakness of
churches in Germany or in central Europe, is not an issue of
structure, but rather that the faith they proclaim seems to have
less power to hold and influence people; therefore the activities
and structures which promote this power to hold and influence the
faithful must have priority.

With regard to Lutheran churches' ecumenical representation, Knuth
considers the VELKD "indispensable," since Christianity worldwide
is organized in confessional churches and confessional families.
"It is of greatest importance for the core unity of the one church
of Jesus Christ that we reach across our different national,
racial and cultural boundaries, but also our different interests
in our common faith itself, as it is expressed within our shared
confession," he argues.

The revived debate on reform of church structures within the EKD,
representing about 27 million German Protestants, focuses on
avoiding duplication and unnecessary expenses. At the beginning of
March, the EKU Council and the AKf general conference agreed to
draft a basic structure for a "Union of Protestant Churches in the
Protestant Church in Germany" (UEK) The 15 participating churches,
after consultation in their synods, plan to sign the agreement on
the "union" in February 2003, expected to come into effect on 1
July 2003.

(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.)

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