Acting General Secretary Junge Underlines Ecumenical Significance
GENEVA, 20 October 2010 (LWI) – As churches around the world commemorate Reformation Day in 2010 on or around 31 October, Acting General Secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev. Martin Junge has invited LWF member churches to observe this year’s anniversary with a special sense of gratitude as they reflect on the contemporary significance of the Reformation’s witness to the gospel.
In a letter addressed to LWF member churches, Junge reminds the Lutheran communion of the need to reaffirm God’s gift of grace especially in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. “It is precisely because we live by grace that we have the confidence to look with honest eyes at the traditions we cherish and to seek God’s healing hand to make them live anew. Such a spirit is one for which our contemporary world thirsts,” writes Junge.
On 31 October 1517 Luther nailed his “Ninety-Five Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, calling for reform in the Catholic Church of his time. Today Lutherans observe the date as Reformation Day.
Junge reminds churches of the July 2010 LWF Eleventh Assembly “Action on the Legacy of Lutheran Persecution of Anabaptists,” in which Lutherans asked Mennonites for forgiveness for the former’s violent persecution of Anabaptists in the 16th century, and for the subsequent harmful depictions of the latter to the present day.
“In coming with repentance even to our own special festival, we are acting from the heart of our faith. We are recognizing that the Spirit of God who called the reformers is still active among us now,” writes Junge.
He notes that Luther’s actions marked “a crucial turning point, a beginning of the Reformation,” and that observing this day has become a practice not only for Lutherans but also for many other churches.
“We recognize that the Reformation is not ours alone; reformation is a continuous need of the Church in every age, including this one. And we continue to work to address painful divisions among Christians, including those which date from the time of the reformers,” he stresses.
Junge invites churches to use the “Service of Repentance” prepared for LWF Sunday 2010. Liturgical materials can be downloaded and adapted as needed for local contexts.
“Consider how this spirit of repentance can speak to your own churches on this Reformation Sunday—for in such prayers and acts of repentance we touch on a profound dimension of the meaning of Reformation in our time,” Junge concludes. (431 words)
See also:
- Reformation Day Calls Churches to “Freedom for Service”
- The Ongoing Reformation of the Church
- Reformation Is a Continuing Call, LWF General Secretary Junge Tells Council
- Lutherans Everywhere Are Inheritors of the Reformation
- “We Recognize Ourselves as Children of the Reformation”
- LWF Sunday 2010: Service of Repentance
- Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission Begins Discussion on Reformation Anniversary and "Baptism and Growth in Communion"
- LWF Special Committee for 2017 Reformation Anniversary Meets in Budapest
- Strategic Planning a Major Focus of LWF Regional Consultation in South Africa
- LWF Sunday
