11/20/2015

German North Church 2015 Consultation Report

On my last full day in Germany, the noonday bells from Wittenberg’s city hall echoed from brick walls, the whistle of a train blew like wind across the main square and the tough refrain of hammers clinched the air around my ears. At the same moment, the sense of wonder that had marked my entire “working pilgrimage” cloaked my mind. Like Luther’s theological home town preparing for the 500^th anniversary of his 95 Theses coming in 2017, I stood in wonder, considering what roads may lie ahead for our church around the world.

At Pentecost, 2012, three synods of northern Germany united to form one larger community now called the Nordkirche (North Church.) In discussing outreach and partnership projects, Nordkirche leaders decided to invite one man and one woman representing each of their international partners, (including our Southern Ohio Synod) to a nine-day consultation Sept. 12-20. Goals among our 50+ internationals and German partners included getting to know one another and talking about projects and problems to pursue. Bishops, pastors, church staff, and a smattering of laypeople like myself came from 5 continents. Upon my arrival, I learned that Nordkirche partnerships include not only Lutherans, but the Church of England, United Church of Christ, the Russian Orthodox community, and in the case of a few countries such as China, cross-denominational Christian movements as well.  

Hammers of justice! Our overarching Consultation theme came from Amos 5:24: “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” But exactly what does justice mean, and what are the barriers and the tools to its flow in the life of a church? How an Indian pastor, a Kazakhstani bishop, or a German dean answer this question show the diversity within our faith and cultures. For example, as European congregations deal with an embarrassment of riches but a poverty of attendance, India’s communities are still plagued by social implications of the caste system. Kazakhstan’s 52 tiny, isolated congregations are scattered through a country the size of Europe. Yet faith lives on. There is the undying admiration for Europe’s cathedrals, regardless of one’s beliefs.  Growth among India’s Christian communities and a political awareness of solidarity among Kazakhstan’s Lutherans cultivate vibrant beliefs in minority Christian communities around the world. 

Bells of freedom! On our first day in Hamburg, sirens wheezed loudly enough to interrupt our singing. A colleague counted 46 police cars in a row passing the Nordkirche headquarters center and hotel. We learned that a demonstration planned by a Neo-Nazi group was being prevented, while some ten thousand citizens in favor of refugee resettlement marched through the city center. Our first several days involved 10 exposure groups that visited church-sponsored and social projects throughout the Nordkirche. These ranged from disability training centers, to environmental action nonprofits. Following the small-group activities of the second through fifth day of our Consultation, we came back together to discuss our findings and reopen the idea of justice in social context. All of us had also visited refugee efforts in some form. The Nordkirche response included opening facilities to those rejected for asylum. On our last day, when we gathered at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Hamburg for a closing service, a Roma family of about forty people from the former Yugoslavia expressed fear for their lives, should they return home. For now, the Hamburg church affords them sanctuary.

Whistles of admiration! During our time together, I heard not one single complaint beyond the fatigue of jetlag from my fellow delegates. While the schedule of visits and scripture study left us sometimes overwhelmed, the sense of refreshment born of our deep dialogue about justice in all its forms renewed our souls. Most of us walked some three miles along a climate justice pilgrimage crossing northern Germany en route to Paris during our last week-end together; after a prayer marking the end of our trek with other pilgrims, a rainbow smiled down on us from the evening sky. I realized in that moment that walking in justice involves anything we can do to make someone’s walk on earth a step softer, a pace more gentle.

Wittenberg Revisited! Our German partners offered us a two-day visit to Wittenberg following the consultation. Our dorm near the center of town was on Jueden Strasse (Jews Street), its name unchanged since its centuries as part of the Jewish quarter. Like much of the Nordkirche itself, Wittenberg is in former East Germany. Even now, the difference in atmosphere is obvious there as older clerks can respond more readily to Russian than to English. A palpable excitement marks the atmosphere of the town of 50,000 as the Castle Church is currently closed before a splendid restoration for 2017. A peace garden in the shape of the Luther Rose is expanding with trees from nearly 300 synods. Additional trees up to 500 will become part of a green belt around the city. As for the center of town, one delegate who had seen Wittenberg in the 1980s told me “It’s gone from black-and-white East Germany, to an in-color town that feels quite new.” And for all their temporary cacophony, the hammers echoed the flow of our work around the world still progressing, our heritage still evolving.   

Elizabeth was the interpreter to Bishop Yuri Novgorodov on his two visits to our synod, (2009 and 2014 assemblies.) She was the only U.S. Lutheran woman attending this world event. For additional information and pictures, please visit http://www.consultation2015.org/news.html.  

Thank you, Elizabeth, for serving the Southern Ohio Synod and representing us well!