wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Margot Kaessmann on the 9th Assembly theme

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For immediate release - 14/10/2005

GOD'S GRACE - A NEW BEGINNING IN THE MIDST OF THE SCARS OF HISTORY

By Margot Kaessmann (*)

      Reflections on the theme of the WCC 9th Assembly:
      God, in your grace, transform the world
      More articles and free photos at
      www.wcc-assembly.info

The rebuilding of a church destroyed by human hatred and ideology can be a
sign of God's transformative grace, says bishop Margot Kaessmann in the
following article, reflecting on the theme of the 9th Assembly of the
World Council of Churches: God, in your grace, transform the world.

On Reformation day, 30 October, 2005, the Frauenkirche (Church of Our
Lady) in Dresden will be officially re-opened. For me as for many Germans,
this is a sign of the grace of God.

Built between 1726-1743, the church was a monument of Lutheran Baroque. As
Germany's largest Protestant church, it was a landmark in the city that is
called the "Florence on the river Elbe".

Less than three months before the end of the second world war, on the
night of February 13, 1945, Dresden was destroyed by the bombs of the
British Royal Air Force. An enormous fire-storm demolished almost the
entire city; even the river afforded no safety. More than 40.000 people,
many women, children, wounded people and refugees, died.

The cupola of the Frauenkirche resisted the bombing, but the sandstone
structure could not cope with the over-1000 degrees heat, and imploded
after two days. Yet there was a miracle as well. Some 300 people, mainly
women and children who had taken refuge in the church and stayed there
until the morning of February 14, all survived!

During the time of German Democratic Republic, the ruins of the church
stood as a mute reminder of German guilt, a call to engage for peace and
to resist war. I vividly remember a peace vigil there organized in the
context of the World Council of Churches' conciliar process for justice,
peace and the integrity of creation. You could already feel that times
were changing, and the ecumenical movement was encouraging many in the
churches to stand up for peace and justice.

So the ruin was one of the places where the cry for freedom and democracy
was clearly heard. The cry "no violence" was taken from the churches onto
the streets of Dresden and Leipzig and East Berlin. The non-violent
reunification of Germany in 1989 was the consequence.

In 1992, the city of Dresden agreed to rebuild the Frauenkirche. Many felt
that this was a mistake, and that the ruins should remain as a reminder of
the scars as well as the guilt. But, all over the world, many more gave
money for the restoration. And so it happened faster than anyone might
have imagined.

On 22 June 2004, a new cross was planted on the church's cupola - as a
gift of the British people! You can still see old stones in the new
building: scars of history, scars of life. And people in the so-called
secularized East of Germany are going to discover this church.

> Grace: a sign of God's vision for this world

For me, this story of Dresden is a sign of reconciliation, a sign of God's
grace that transforms the world, on which the theme of the upcoming WCC
Assembly invites us to reflect. All the pride the building has shown is
visible again now, but the scars that ideology and hatred bring are also
fully visible.

With human life, it is the same, I believe. We go wrong, we are misled,
but God grants us a new beginning. And even when life is destroyed, when
we see no future ahead, only fighting and misery, God will save our lives
as God saved those people in the church. That is grace, for those who live
as for those who die, because this grace does not end at the borders of
life as we know it.

God's grace also makes reconciliation possible. It was a special moment
when the cross from Britain was put on top of the church. The church of
Saxony gave one of the few small replicas of that cross to our church in
Hanover as a reminder that, during the years of division by the wall, our
two churches stayed in close partnership.

For me, God's grace teaches humility and respect for the generations of
faith before us. When I visited the church four years ago, I saw what
great inventors our fathers and mothers in faith were, long before the
innovations of technology.

So grace is the source of life, of reconciliation, of hope for peace and
justice. And it is a sign of God's vision for this world - sometimes even
visible for those who do not believe.

When I see all those tourists waiting in long lines to see the Frauenkirche, I think: aren't there indeed many ways for God's word to transform the
world and find the way to the heart of the people?

Sometimes it may be a church that is built and destroyed, and rebuilt
again...

[799 words]

(*) Dr Margot Kaessmann, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Hanover, is the first woman bishop of her church and the second of three
women bishops in Germany. A member of the WCC central committee from 1983
to 2002, she is a delegate to the WCC's 9th Assembly. Among many books,
she has written Overcoming Violence: The Challenge to the Church in All
Places (Geneva, 2001), and Ecumenism at a crossroads (Ökumene am
Scheideweg; Hannover, 2003).

[Sidebar text]

9th WCC Assembly: Praying for a transformed world

The 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) will be held in
Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 14-23 February 2006. Its theme is a prayer:
"God, in your grace, transform the world".

The first WCC assembly of the 21st century, it will gather up to 3,000
church leaders and ecumenical representatives from nearly every Christian
tradition around the world. As such, it will be one of the broadest global
gatherings of its kind.

WCC assemblies are often turning points in the life of the World Council,
and this one is expected to leave its mark on ecumenical history.
Deliberations will focus on issues such as the future of the ecumenical
movement, the churches' commitment to economic justice as well as their
witness to overcoming violence, and the challenges faced in the midst of
religious plurality.

In Porto Alegre, members of the ecumenical family will be able to gather
around the assembly at a Mutirão, a Portuguese word that means coming
together for a common purpose. Made up of workshops, exhibitions and
cultural celebrations, this part of the assembly programme will offer
opportunities for members of the wider ecumenical movement to gather,
reflect and celebrate together.

This is the first WCC Assembly to be held in Latin America, and it is
being hosted by the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil
(CONIC) on behalf of churches throughout the region. Pre-assembly events
for youth and for women will be held from 11-13 February.

Assembly website: www.wcc-assembly.info

[246 words]

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