|
|
|
The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
|
| 02.07.2008 |
|
| Ecumenical Greetings to LWF Council Emphasize Joint Responsibility for Creation |
| |
Christians Cannot Be Indifferent
ARUSHA, Tanzania/GENEVA, 1 July 2008 (LWI) - At its meeting in Arusha, northern Tanzania, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council received greetings from the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Anglicans, Mennonites, Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and from the Government of the Republic of Tanzania.
Deliberations of the meeting hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) focused on the theme, “Melting Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro: A Witness of a Suffering Creation.”
In his greeting delivered by ELCT Iringa diocese Bishop Dr Owdenburg M. Mdegella, WCC General Secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia told the representatives of the LWF member churches that they had gathered for a real talk addressing the concerns of their community and its relationship with others.
“You could also add: the melting ice cap of the Mount Kilimanjaro is also witness of a suffering people who are increasingly confronted with lack of fresh water for themselves their livestock and their [garden] fields,” said Kobia.
Kobia, a Kenyan, said Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya were both glittering mountains covered with snow some 15 years ago. “Today, Mt Kenya has lost almost all of its ice cap, and the glacier covering Mt Kilimanjaro is rapidly retreating,” he said. “Now that the ice is gone, the river beds are empty and dry from September to March, leading to competition for water, pasture and farmland.
Much in Common
The Orthodox representative Metropolitan Isaiah from Cyprus described the LWF Council theme as current and important.
“It was true that ecological destruction of the earth, with all its consequences as a result of the unbalanced and extreme over consuming of goods and the misuse and abuse of earth’s resources cannot leave us as Christians in indifference,” he said.
He referred to the recent meeting of the Lutheran - Orthodox Joint Commission in Cyprus, during which both sides affirmed their strong wish to continue the search for Christian unity.
“This creates among us an [alliance] in Christ that is so much needed, between Christians, in today’s collapsing spiritual and ecological environment,” he said.
On behalf of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Musonda T. S. Mwamba of Botswana greeted the Council as one who felt “at home” in this Lutheran gathering. He described the progress in mutual understanding and cooperation being made by both the international Anglican-Lutheran dialogue and by the All Africa Anglican –Lutheran Commission, of which he is co-chair. In both these settings, and in local churches, the two traditions discover that they have much in common and desire to move toward greater visible unity, for their own sakes and for the sake of their common mission, he said.
On behalf of the Mennonite World Conference, Rev. Matiku T. Nyitambe from Musoma Tanzania, described the excellent relations between Mennonites and Lutherans in Africa and expressed his hopes that the current international conversations can bring the two communities even closer.
New Hope
A representative of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Rev. Dr Matthias Türk, delivered the Roman Catholic greetings. He assured the LWF Council of the Roman Catholic Church’s deep solidarity in the struggle against the destruction of the climate, natural resources, mankind and the earth, as well as against poverty and illnesses. The beauty and health of nature was “melting away so fast and without any chance of return in the near future,” he said.
He spoke of the need to work intensely together as Christians “to give new hope to this endangered and suffering world, following truly the example of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
On the Lutheran – Roman Catholic dialogue, Türk said both partners could look back joyfully on more than 40 years of fruitful ecumenical dialogues, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, whose 10th signing anniversary will be commemorated jointly in 2009.
“It is time to harvest the fruits of these intense years of dialogue. We have to watch out that they will not be forgotten or that old anti-ecumenical ideas rise again like the talk of “basic differences,” which we thought would have long been overcome,” he said.
Praise for ELCT’s Work
Delivering the Tanzanian government greeting, community development officer Mr Meshack Ndaskoi, commended LWF’s role in advocating for alternative and friendly sources of energy, and for calling on developed countries to reduce green house gas emissions.
Ndaskoi praised the ELCT for being at the “forefront in making a significant contribution in the provision of social services to Tanzanians and Arusha’s people, especially in the areas of education, health, water and roads.”
He affirmed the government’s continued support in creating “an enabling environment where the church and other stakeholders will contribute more to helping [the] people.” (790 words)
* * *
Around 170 participants attended this year’s Council meeting including church leaders, officials from LWF partner organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators, LWF staff and co-opted staff and accredited media.
The Council is the LWF’s governing body meeting between Assemblies held every six years. The current Council was appointed at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. It comprises the President, Treasurer and 48 persons elected by the Assembly. Other members include advisors, lay and ordained persons, representing the different LWF regions.
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69
Fax: +41/22-791 66 30
Editor’s E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
Media contact in Arusha: +255 782 321 852
|
If you want to edit this article yourself and adapt it to a given format, follow our editing information
|
|
|
|
|
|
