wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Ecumenical “Kirchentag”: Concern for the poor in the land of the rich

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>World Council of Churches - News

>CONCERN FOR THE POOR IN THE LAND OF THE RICH

>For immediate release: 15 May 2010

How Christians living in a rich society deal with the concern for  the
poor was one of the subjects discussed by participants at a German  church
convention (Kirchentag) celebrated in Munich, from 12-16 May.

Churches in Germany and Europe are “integrated into the  society, and thus
are also part of the international market system”, said  Praeses Dr
Nikolaus Schneider, chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical  Church
in Germany (EKD).

This is because “church members, whether they like it or  not, work in
companies that are integrated into this system”, Schneider  explained.
“The church tax which they pay is also due to the fact that  this system
is functioning. We are profiteers of this system”, he added.

In that context, Schneider argued, “the real issue”  that needs to be
discussed is whether there is a way “to get out of the capitalist
economic system and establish an alternative”, or whether  that system
can be shaped “in such a way that it becomes fair and allows  for the
interests of the poor”.

Such a question is “very difficult to answer”, acknowledg ed Schneider,
who is the head of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland and was
speaking at a panel discussion on the theme: “Cry from the  South –
have our churches responded enough?”

The panel was part of the programme of the Kirchentag. This church
convention, celebrated ecumenically for the second time, was organized  by
Protestant and Catholic lay movements and attracted about 125,000
participants.

Schneider's intervention followed opening remarks made by Dr Rogate  Mshana,
a Tanzanian economist who is director of Justice, Diakonia and
Responsibility for Creation at the World Council of Churches.

Mshana emphasized the need to address the root causes of poverty  and of the
growing gap between the rich and the poor both between and within  nations.
“This view is a distinctive contribution that churches in  the South can
make”, he said.

With regard to causes, Mshana put the blame on the dominant paradigm  of
economic globalization. Within its logic, “a few countries  gathered in
the G20 speak for the world and in time of crisis divert enormous
resources to rescue failed banks instead of small farmers”,  he said.

Mshana shared the story of his brother, a farmer who grows sugar  cane in
Tanzania and saw its price go down because of the over-abundance  of
European sugar in the market. “My brother said to me”,  Mshana told the
audience, “I don't want aid, I want justice”.

“From a human and social perspective, the injustice we see  is the biggest
scandal in the world today”, said the Catholic Archbishop  of Bamberg, Dr
Ludwig Schick, who was also a panellist. Just like Schneider, Schick
acknowledged that churches in the North share in the profits of  a system
that is unfair and needs to be reformed.

Schick suggested that churches in rich countries have a triple duty:  hear
and interpret the cry of the poor, respond to it with aid for development
and be their advocates. “Time and again, we need to step  on the toes of
the powerful, who can and must help, and say: Here, injustice is  happening
and something needs to be done about it”, he said.

Schneider proposed to engage in a critique of the market economy  at the
grassroot level, also in rich societies. This is possible today  because
the shortcomings of the market are increasingly affecting people's  lives.

“The North is moving towards the South”, Schneider  said.
“Impoverishment is taking place” in Germany, where  a widening gap
between the rich and the poor can be observed. Today, “there  is nobody
in Germany who does not know family members who are touched by
unemployment or facing other big problems”.

On a different, more practical level, both Schneider and Schick  suggested
that church members and congregations should commit more deeply  to fair
trade practices and change their personal consumption habits and
lifestyles.

Both leaders warned that churches need to be modest: “We  cannot do
everything”, said Schick. “Let's be realistic in  order to avoid
frustrations”, added Schneider.

The economic and social injustice is often seen as a problem of  the South,
but it is actually “the problem of all of us”, said  Mshana. He called
for a radical re-thinking of the market economy and of the global
financial system.

“Reform is not enough”, he said, “what we  need is transformation.”

More information on the WCC programme Justice, Diakonia and Responsibilit y
for Creation (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=682215ffb30 
af954641a
)

More information on WCC activities at the Second Ecumenical Kirchentag
(Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=a45fcccf2d5fe31d0ad7
)

Kirchentag website (Link:

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=0c14af3bd42e1fcf556b )

WCC member churches in Germany (Link:

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=b8ae6c25eb8a09eee875 )

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,  witness and 
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship  of churches 
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560  million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the  Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse  Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.