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- Finland: General Synod Welcomes 16-Year-Olds to Vote in Parish Elections - Court Convicts Finnish Pastor Opposed to Conducting Service with Woman Clergy - Regional Baden and Wuerttemberg Protestant Synods Approve Church-State Agreement - ELCA Synod Bishop, Other Faith Leaders Urge Re-authorization of AIDS Plan - Danish Christians and Muslims Establish Joint Working Forum - Major Changes Foreseen for Danish Lutheran Church - New Zealand's Lutheran Church Has New President, Robert Erickson - Wuerttemberg Church Establishes Day to Commemorate Kristallnacht -Latin American Lutheran and Presbyterian-Reformed Churches Joint Publication on Neo-Liberal Globalization -Staff Changes at Germany's Lutheran Church Body
Finland: General Synod Welcomes 16-Year-Olds to Vote in Parish Elections
At its November meeting, the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) approved an amendment to its Ecclesiastical Act, giving young people aged 16 and 17 years the right to vote in parish elections. However, the minimum age for eligible candidates remains 18 years, a news release from the ELCF communications center stated.
Proponents of the change argued the right to vote would increase opportunities for young adults to participate in church life and strengthen their commitment. The action of the ELCFâs highest decision-making body also provides young people with better chances of being elected to positions of responsibility.
According to the ELCF, young Finns are most active in congregations at the age when they attend confirmation classes - which included 88 percent of all 15-year-olds in 2006. It is hoped that young people with a right to decision-making soon after confirmation would remain more interested and active in their congregations.
Parish elections held every four years decide members of local governing bodies in parishes and parish unions. About 12,000 elected lay persons serve in positions of responsibility in the church's 517 parishes.
The ELCF has over 4.5 million members, including those residing abroad. It joined the LWF in 1947. (212 words)
(ELCF Communications Center)
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Court Convicts Finnish Pastor Opposed to Conducting Service with Woman Clergy
In a recent case in Hyvinkaa, northeast Finland, a court ordered a visiting male pastor representing the Lutheran Evangelical Association in Finland (LEAF) to pay a fine for refusing to conduct a worship service with a parish pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). Also indicted was the local chairperson of LEAF, which does not accept the ELCF's women's ministry.
The ELCF Church Council adopted the women's ministry in 1986, and ordained the first women pastors in March 1988. In 1990, the synod agreed that women could be consecrated as bishops. In 2005, the ELCF included 748 female and 1,449 male pastors, with the latter representing 66 percent of all parish pastors. Around 62 percent of all hospital chaplains were women, as were 69.8 percent of family counselors. (141 words)
(ELCF Communications Center)
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Regional Baden and Wuerttemberg Protestant Synods Approve Church-State Agreement
At their first joint meeting in late October, the synods of the Evangelical Church in Baden and Evangelical Church in Wuerttemberg gave their approval for an agreement between the churches and the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The agreement will regulate the relationship between the two Protestant churches and Baden-Wuerttemberg. The document was officially signed on 17 October by the Baden-Wuerttemberg premier Guenther H. Oettinger and the Wuerttemberg and Baden bishops, Frank O. July and Ulrich Fischer respectively.
At the 25 October joint meeting, Premier Oettinger referred to the agreement approval by the two Protestant synods as a special moment for Christians and the entire state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. He said they now had a just and competent basis for future relations between the churches and state, adding he was proud that Baden-Wuerttemberg was a state with a strong Christian tradition.
Wuerttemberg Bishop July characterized as "truly historic" the first joint meeting between the two synods, which marked the agreement's approval. Baden Bishop Fischer lauded the agreement as a "wonderful" document, even taking its esthetic qualities into account. The Baden church has had an agreement with the state since 1932, which will be replaced by the new one. The Wuerttemberg church, by contrast, is the last German regional church apart from Hamburg and Berlin to sign such an agreement. The Evangelical Church in Wuerttemberg, a member of the Lutheran World Federation since 1947, has approximately 2.3 million members, while the Baden church has 1.3 million.
The agreement determines, among other things, the amount that the state would pay the churches as compensation for property loss during the Reformation and secularization of 1803. It also regulates religious education in public schools, which the churches provide for the state, and the payment involved. Observance of Sundays and holidays as days of rest are also to be respected in general, while the theology departments of the Universities of Heidelberg and TÃbingen would continue providing training for religion teachers and pastors, and receive adequate equipment. The agreement, furthermore, provides guidelines on diaconal services, cemeteries, and pastoral care for prisoners. (352 words)
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ELCA Synod Bishop, Other Faith Leaders Urge Re-authorization of AIDS Plan
The Rev. Richard H. Graham, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Metropolitan Washington, DC Synod, joined with other faith leaders and government officials on Capitol Hill on 13 December in advocating for robust funding and improved policies in the re-authorization of the Presidentâs Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
PEPFAR is due to expire in 2008 and discussions are under way regarding its re-authorization.
"Twenty-five years into the world's most devastating health pandemic we must ask ourselves, what does the ministry of reconciliation mean to our communities throughout the world that have been devastated by HIV and AIDS?" said Graham. "What does it mean to the millions of people throughout the world infected and affected by this disease who are longing for the advent of comprehensive prevention, treatment and care? What does it mean to those who are still discriminated against and stigmatized because of AIDS?"
As it considers the PEPFAR re-authorization, religious leaders urge Congress to support the funding of USD 50 billion over the next five years, with at least 10 percent dedicated to addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children through integrated community programs. They also call for increased flexibility for implementation of comprehensive prevention, treatment and care programs that empower local communities; and more funding to train and help sustain the number of health care workers and volunteers while strengthening the infrastructure of health systems.
The ELCA is currently developing an HIV and AIDS strategy requested by its 2007 Churchwide Assembly, for presentation at the 2009 Assembly. It is among member churches of the Lutheran World Federation that have been responding to HIV and AIDS actively through advocacy and prevention education, treatment and care for affected children and families, among other initiatives. (300 words)
(ELCA News Service)
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Danish Christians and Muslims Establish Joint Working Forum
Leaders of Denmarkâs Christian and Muslim communities have set up a formal joint forum to work towards better understanding between both religions. At a recent conference at the Imam Ali Islamic Center in Copenhagen, 40 religious leaders met to discuss how to improve their relations, including how to remove fear and prejudice. They also heard of Norway's experience, where such a forum has existed for a number of years.
The chairperson of the Danish Islamic Council, Jehad Al Farra, welcomed the new forum, and the presence of both Sunni and Shia Muslims at the conference. âDialogue has always led to better understanding, and as Denmark increasingly becomes a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, misunderstandings arise but can be easily corrected through a dialogue forum,â he said. Denmark must lead from the front and ensure that there is no conflict between living here and being Muslim,â he added.
Muslims comprise less than two percent of Denmarkâs 5.5 million people. (164 words)
(Church News from Denmark)
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Major Changes Foreseen for Danish Lutheran Church
Following the November 2007 elections in Denmark, the center-right coalition government put forward proposals to limit the tenure of bishops and to replace the stateâs direct grant to pastors' salaries with a block grant to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark (ELCD).
"The biggest change in nearly 100 years," according to church historian Kurt E. Larsen, referring to the reform in the 1920s which democratized bishops' appointment by enfranchising all church council members. Bishop Steen Skovsgaard of Lolland-Falster said he feared the proposal would turn pastors into politicians.
A majority of bishops have previously supported a 10 to 12-year tenure for a bishop, as opposed to the present system where tenure is relinquished upon retirement. The argument is that a limited office term concentrates focus better in a job where leadership is required not only in church matters but also increasingly toward other religions, the press and toward pervading Danish indifference to the church.
The bishops are also concerned about proposals to cut the number of pastorates and to move pastors around to where the need is greatest. According to a government report, the Aalborg diocese has 33 pastors too many. "This is armchair politics at its worst," says the affected bishop, Soeren Lodberg Hvas. "In many areas the pastor and church council are the only resource people left!" The bishop of Viborg, Karsten Nissen agrees, "We are under considerable pressure, so I move pastorates around internally in the bishopric to meet local needs."
The ELCD is the Danish national Church, with the parliament - Folketinget - as its legislative authority. It is divided into 12 dioceses, each headed by a bishop, and has 103 deaneries served by around 2,000 pastors. The 4.5 million-member church joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1947. (297 words)
(Church News from Denmark)
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New Zealand's Lutheran Church Has New President, Robert Erickson
Rev. Robert Erickson is the new president of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand (LCNZ). The LCNZ is a district of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), an associate member church of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
LCA president Rev. Michael P. Semmler installed Erickson into his new position in late October. Erickson, 55, succeeds Rev. Steen Olsen.
Before taking up the leadership position at LCNZ, Erickson, originally from the United States of America, had served as a pastor in California. When he joined the LCA, he served in parishes in the Brisbane area. The LCA has 75,000 members, and joined the LWF in 1994. The LCNZ has 976 members. (119 words)
(The Lutheran â Australia)
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Wuerttemberg Church Establishes Day to Commemorate Kristallnacht
At its autumn meeting in late October, the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Wuerttemberg decided by a vast majority to establish 9 November as a day of commemora tion and repentance.
Church congregations will be encouraged to commemorate the 1938 events of Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") and, if possible, in an ecumenical manner and in cooperation with their local municipalities. Materials for the commemoration have already been provided by the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (ACK). Winfried Dalferth, a member of the Wuerttemberg synod, explained that they had not sought to create a new holiday but instead a day of commemoration as a bulwark against forgetting the historical events. The synod called for a day of repentance and atonement in addition to forward-looking and sustainable Christian-Jewish relations.
The first commemoration day in 2008 will mark the 70th anniversary of this event and is certain to be observed by all. There are also plans to work toward adopting the commemoration day by the entire ACK and other member churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).
In the night of 9-10 November 1938, synagogues were set on fire and the windows of Jewish shops were shattered throughout Germany. Tens of thousands of Jews, men and women, were arrested, taken to concentration camps, and murdered. (223 words)
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Latin American Lutheran and Presbyterian-Reformed Churches Joint Publication on Neo-Liberal Globalization
The Latin American member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Latin America (AIPRAL) have jointly published a book on neo-liberal globalization titled, "Life in All Fullness" (cf. John 10:10).
Most of the publication's articles had appeared in two separate volumes in Spanish by the two confessional organizations in 2004 and 2006. "Life in All Fullness" editor, Rev. Dr Renà Krueger writes in the book's introduction that soon after the Spanish editions, the idea arose "of publishing a version in English, which would contribute to the dialogue with our sisters and brothers in churches and ecumenical institutions of the Northern Hemisphere." Krueger is a former rector of ISEDET, an ecumenical theological institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Prof. German Zijlstra, AIPRAL general secretary, explains the publication is founded "in faith, in reflection, in commitment, and in the engagement of our small Reformed-Presbyterian and Lutheran churches within the context of the serious situations faced in Latin America and the Caribbean."
Rev. Dr Gloria Rojas, moderator of the LWF Latin American Church Leadership Conference (Conferencia de Liderazgo - COL) places this publication within the context of the continual reflection of Christians in the form of dialectic between proclamation and judgment. Christians seek the basis for their faith and hope "in the context of the ever-deepening chasm between rich and poor that has stubbornly taken hold in the Latin American context."
The publication's topics include Voices of the Churches (statements); Reflections; Testimonies and Contributions for Community Discussion; and Liturgical Materials. Rev. Martin Junge, area secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean at the LWF Department for Mission and Development, says the publication is an important sign of ecumenical cooperation âboth with regard to cooperation between AIPRAL and the LWF Latin American member churches, and the goal to maintain ecumenical dialogue on neo-liberal globalization."
Junge points out "the diversity of the articles in the book, the variety of voices that come to the fore, as well as the attempt to communicate this in the English language" show that this is in fact a genuine opening for dialogue. "Subsequent to past communication difficulties concerning the understanding of a globalization driven by the spirit of neo-liberalism, this is hopefully a real contribution toward maintaining a dialogue." (387 words)
Further information on the publication can be requested by e-mail from the ISEDET ecumenical theological ins(renekruger@isedet.edu.a r).
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Staff Changes at Germany's Lutheran Church Body
- Christine Jahn Named New VELKD Worship Secretary
Rev. Christine Jahn, 47, is the new secretary for worship and liturgy at the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD) in Hanover, Germany. The VELKD leadership named the pastor from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria to succeed Oberkirchenrat Hans Krech, who retired at the end of October 2007.
She attended Munich's University of Music and Performing Arts, and studied Protestant theology. From 1995 to 1997, she served as theological secretary for worship and church music, and was theological secretary for pastors in the Bavarian church personnel office from 1998 to 2000.
Jahn has been serving as pastor in Murnau (Munich church district) since 2000. She joined the Bavarian church synod in 2002, and has been a member of the VELKD liturgy committee.
VELKD includes eight Lutheran churches in Bavaria, Brunswick, Hanover, Mecklenburg, North Elbia, Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe and Thuringia, representing nearly 9.8 million Lutherans. It is headed by presiding Bishop Dr Johannes Friedrich from Bavaria.
- Schuegraf Is New VELKD Secretary for Ecumenical Questions
VELKD also named Bavarian pastor Rev. Dr Oliver Schuegraf, 38, as Oberkirchenrat. He will succeed Rev. Dr Christoph Jahnel, who has since returned to Bavaria. Schuegraf will be responsible for fundamental ecumenical questions for the church body, from the beginning of 2008.
He studied Protestant theology in Erlangen and Bonn, Germany, with a year abroad at the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. He completed his doctorate at the Augustana Seminary in Neuendettelsau near Nuremberg, Germany. His dissertation focused on the ecclesiology of documents pertaining to bilateral consensus.
Professionally, he has served as the chaplain of Coventry University, England, and as coordinator of the Community of the Cross of Nails at the International Center for Reconciliation of Coventry Cathedral. He has been a pastor in Feuchtwangen, Germany since February 2006.
- Mareile Grzanna, New Theology Secretary
Rev. Dr Mareile Grzanna, 42, from Hanover, Germany has been appointed the new secretary for fundamental theological questions at the VELKD church office. Effective 1 February 2008, she will succeed Oberkirchenrat Prof. Klaus Gruenwaldt, who becomes superintendent of the Alfeld church district near Hildesheim, Germany.
Grzanna, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, studied Protestant theology in Marburg and Goettingen in Germany, and in Lausanne and Bern in Switzerland. She served as a pastor in Cuxhaven, Germany from 1998 to 2002. Since 2002, she has been a pastor of the St Johannis Church in Hanover.
In 2007, Grzanna received her doctorate in systematic theology titled, "Menschwerdung - Die Anthropologie Emanuel Hirschs als Theorie ethisch-religioeser Bildung von individueller Subjektivitaet in der Moderne" ["Incarnation - Emanuel Hirsch's Anthropology as a Theory of the Ethical-Religious Development of Individual Subjectivity in the Modern Era"]. (456 words)
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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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