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Wittenberg Plans a Luther Garden - An Interactive Reformation Monument of Trees LWF General Secretary Noko Confirms Lutheran Communion Support
WITTENBERG/HANOVER, Germany/GENEVA, 19 November 2007 - The symbolic groundbreaking of a "Luther Garden" on 31 October 2008 in Wittenberg, Germany, will mark a major preparatory step toward the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017.
Announcing the initiative on 16 November at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Geneva (Switzerland) secretariat, Wittenberg [City of Martin Luther] Mayor Eckard Naumann said the city saw itself as the venue of a vital process, and a meeting and communication place that is open to the global community in view of the Reformation jubilee.
An approximately 230-meter-long Luther Garden will be developed in Wittenberg as a symbol of the global magnitude of the Reformation, and of the interconnectedness, interaction, and reconciliation between Christian churches. Churches throughout the world will be invited to sponsor one of the 500 trees to be planted in the garden, said Oberkirchenrat Norbert Denecke, executive secretary of the Hanover-based LWF National Committee in Germany (LWF/GNC). A plaque on each tree will describe the sponsorship.
During the project's presentation, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko affirmed the Lutheran communion's support and LWF's leadership role. "It is important that the Wittenberg mayor and churches in Germany through the LWF German National Committee have demonstrated a strong desire to have the commemoration of the 500 years of the nailing of the 95 theses as an ecumenical and international event," he remarked. "The visit to the LWF as well as discussions held on the [project's] content demonstrate a seriousness of moving into the future as inclusively as possible. The LWF supports the initiative and sees itself in the leadership of this initiative," Noko added.
Internationally renowned landscape architect Dr Andreas Kipar commissioned with the project, plans a public square shaped around a Luther Rose created from a variety of cobblestones. He said outdoor worship services and other events could be held at the site. The landscape architect with offices in Milan, Italy and Duisburg, Germany has offered the project concept on a complimentary basis.
The plan is to have an oval shape from a group of 500 trees surround the Luther Rose by 31 October 2017. The garden will serve to connect the town center and the River Elbe, with the garden pointing southward to the river, thus symbolically opening itself to the world.
A triangle will connect Wittenberg's Castle Church, City Church and Luther Garden as part of the town's green belt. The outdoor garden will add another Luther symbol to the city in addition to the Luther House and Luther Monument.
Kipar said the trees would represent the events in Wittenberg 500 years ago that fundamentally changed the world, providing people today with the opportunity to reflect on these developments.
Denecke explained that possible tree-sponsorship partners could include, in addition to the LWF member churches, churches of the Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and all churches and dioceses that have been shaped or influenced by the Lutheran Reformation, including dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church. The churches involved in the project are to be asked to plant a tree at a central location with a reference to Wittenberg as the Reformation's place of origin, giving voice to a sense of a worldwide inter-relatedness of spirit and theology in the central concerns of the Christian faith. This would make it possible to turn the Luther Garden into an interactive Reformation monument.
The conference of bishops and church leadership of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germa ny (VELKD) and the GNC have placed great importance in the 2017 Reformation jubilee, as both a celebration of the global Lutheran communion and an ecumenical and international event. In this context, the LWF is the natural choice when it comes to opening the doors to other global communities.
During the Geneva visit, Naumann confirmed the city's responsibility for the garden's development and maintenance, while the churches would provide the trees. He noted Wittenberg's bid to host the 2015 Saxony-Anhalt state garden exhibition includes the Luther Garden as a potential part of the comprehensive concept.
The mayor observed that while only around 20 percent of the city's population belong to a church or religious community, since 1990, there had been an openness among non-religious inhabitants in view of Wittenberg's international significance as the origin of the Reformation. He also pointed to the informal positive support for the Luther Garden project by the city council and the construction committee, saying he anticipates a formal vote for the initiative.
An innovative financial plan is expected to be in place by 2008. While Denecke does not expect financial difficulties in view of the tree sponsorship program, he said an alternative option would be to cover costs with the help of German churches, congregations and other sponsors. (808 words)
Further information on the Luther Garden including photos and projectâs presentation can be accessed on the LWF website at: www.lutheranworld.org/Luthergarden.html
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66.7 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith 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 LWF's information service. 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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