wfn.org | LWF Council Members 'in the Footsteps of Luther'

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

Wittenberg, Where the Reformation is Still Alive"

LWF Council Meeting, Wittenberg, Germany, 10-17 September 2002

Press Release No. 13

WITTENBERG, Germany/GENEVA, 15 September 2002 (LWI) * "There is
some poignancy to being in Wittenberg * not being able to go to
what is literally the grounding place of our faith because of the
war that is taking place in the Middle East," said Mark S. Hanson,
Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) vice-president for
North America. "If we couldn't be in Jerusalem, it was appropriate
that now this reforming movement in the church catholic, which
bears the name Lutheran, [so] global in its scope, would gather
for this meeting in Wittenberg," Hanson said.

In some dimensions, Wittenberg can be compared to Jerusalem, in
that most Lutheran Christians have only read about these places or
seen pictures of them, said Dr. Martin Treu, director, Lutherhalle
(Luther Hall) Wittenberg. It is something else to know these
places really exist by seeing them and touching them, he said.
Treu invited Lutherans from around the world to visit Wittenberg
in March 2003, after the completion of two years of renovations to
Luther's house. "We hope that many visitors who have been
disappointed in the past years, seeing the Luther house only from
the outside, will now come and have the opportunity to see the
actual places where Luther lived and worked," he sid.

Lutherstadt (Luther's city) Wittenberg, where Dr. Martin Luther
made his home in Germany, is the 16th century birthplace of the
Protestant Reformation. Representatives from LWF member churches,
including LWF Council members, national committee representatives,
consultants and guests are in this eastern German city for their
September 10-17 meeting.

The LWF Council originally planned to meet in Jerusalem but
changed its venue to Wittenberg because of the situation in the
Middle East. Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) expressed his
disappointment with the decision. "The time for solidarity is
now," he said, "not when times are good and tourists are coming."
He repeated his open invitation for future meetings to be held
there.

But Younan was not disappointed about meeting in Wittenberg, the
16th century birthplace of Lutheranism. "Wittenberg is a
continuation of Jerusalem," he said." In Jerusalem we have the
gospel of love and reconciliation. Martin Luther wanted to revive
that message in Germany," he said.

"As a Lutheran, I am delighted to be here to see where the good
movement in the history of Christianity began," said Bishop David
Piso of the Gutnius Lutheran Church - Papua New Guinea. "I am very
excited to be here." Piso was in Wittenberg in 1983 to celebrate
the 500th anniversary of Luther's birth. He said the current visit
was much more comfortable. After the unification of Germany "new
buildings are up, maintenance work has been done, and roads have
been upgraded," Piso remarked.

"It becomes more [real] when you are here, instead of just reading
the books and sermons," said Rev. Angela Veii, coordinator for
Lutheran unity, LWF National Committee in Namibia. "When you see
all the places and walk on the same ground" as Luther did, "you
get an extraordinary feeling," Veii said as she stood outside the
Schlosskirche (Castle Church) where Luther's 95 theses were first
posted.

"This is very important for us, because our theological rots are
here," said Rev. Huberto Kirchheim, president of the Evangelical
Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil and LWF vice-president
for Latin America and the Caribbean. He said that walking the
streets of Wittenberg and visiting the church where Luther posted
the 95 theses were emotional experiences. "It reminds us who we
are as a church and helps us to see we are a church with a clearly
defined identity," said Kirchheim. Visiting Wittenberg
"strengthens us in this process of rereading the Lutheran identity
in the historical and social context in which we now live," he
added.

For Dr. Sarada Devi Karnatakam, Council adviser representing the
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, coming to Wittenberg
"has brought hope and courage." She looked forward to sharing her
experiences with her church and other Christians at home. "It
inspires me to fight for truth and righteousness. Dr. Martin
Luther showed us the way," she said.

Council member Rev. Emmanuel Grantson, representing the ELCA,
said, "For me, as a Lutheran, it's like going on a pilgrimage. To
come back and rehear and reread about the tradition" forces
Lutherans to rethink that tradition for their current time and
place, he said. "It would be almost like a taxi that remains the
same but the driver may change," said Grantson.

Grantson visited Wittenberg in 1999 with the Conference of
International Black Lutherans. He said his first visit was more
emotional for him, but during the second one, he had been able to
see many of the sites he had missed. "There was also continued
renovation of Wittenberg," Grantson said, predicting "it will
become an even stronger religious and historical center for
Lutherans."

"This place has been very meaningful," said Rev. Ken Phin Pang,
LWF Council member representing the Basel Christian Church of
Malaysia. "This is my first time in this historic town. As a
Lutheran, Martin Luther is a hero," she said. After the city tour,
Ping said the history of Luther came to life for her.

"Wittenberg is the best lace to get to know everything about
Reformation history," said Silvio Reichelt, licensed tour guide,
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. "It is the birthplace of the Reformation,"
he said. Reichelt hoped the LWF Council members and their advisers
would return to their congregations around the world and tell
other Lutherans "to feel free to come here because it is an
exciting place, where the Reformation is still alive."

Staff of the LWF Office for Communication Services at the Council
meeting can be contacted at German mobile telephone No., +49-(0)
170-8345 177.

(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 61.7
million of the 65.4 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
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with acknowledgment.]

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