September 22, 2008

LUTHERSTADT WITTENBERG, Germany – The Sept. 20-21 kickoff of the "Luther Decade" here was significant for all Lutherans because it offered opportunities for evangelism and "deep theological conversation" among Lutherans and ecumenical partners, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), made the comments Sept. 21 during a news conference here.

Hanson participated in a series of events marking the arrival here 500 years ago of Martin Luther, a German monk, whose writings were instrumental in the Lutheran Reformation. The Luther Decade is expected to be a series of events and observances leading to 2017. In that year Lutherans will mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation, when Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church.

"The Luther Decade is very important for Lutherans throughout the world because what began in Germany is clearly now a global movement," said Hanson whose LWF role includes leading 68.3 million Lutherans worldwide.

The rapid increase of the numbers of Lutherans in Africa is testimony that the Lutheran Church continues to be an evangelical movement, he said. "Yet we must confront the challenges that prosperity gospel preaching are for us who proclaim a radical cruciform gospel of God's grace in Christ through faith," Hanson said.

Through the Reformation, Lutherans have contributed many gifts to the entire Christian church, Hanson said. He noted that in an age of religious extremists and the growth of fundamentalism, descendants of the Lutheran Reformation live with convictions that may seem to be contradictory to others – such as the belief that the creation is both good and at the same time fallen, that people are saints and sinners, and that the Word of God is both law and gospel.

"Those are deeply held teachings for us, but they are difficult to communicate in a world that doesn't seem to want to live with ambiguity and paradox," Hanson said.

Lutherans offer other gifts to the world, such as ecumenical cooperation, diaconal ministry in service to others, and work for justice and peace.

"We also must be attentive in this decade to how we live as Christians with people of other faiths," Hanson said. "This is a time for us to engage in dialogue so that extremists of any religion don't dominate the world or don't become the only face of people who are religious to the world." He said Lutherans are working in places such as the Middle East to achieve peaceful resolution of historic conflicts.

Human beings need to be reformed in how they treat creation, Hanson said, noting that the first of Luther's 95 Theses is about repentance.

"The Luther Decade offers a chance over 10 years to talk about theology ... about how we can bring people in contact with the gospel, discover why we are Lutheran today and what it means to be Lutheran in the globalized world," said Prelate Stephan Dorgerloh, director, Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) Wittenberg Center. Dorgerloh will lead EKD involvement in the decade's activities.

Hanson also preached at a nationally broadcast Castle Church service here Sept. 21, attended by German government officials and church leaders.

Information about the Luther Decade is at http://www.wittenberg.de/ and http://www.luther2017.de/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service