Three Lutherans reflect on their participation in an ecumenical forum which brings vital new voices to the table
(LWI) - “Building bridges through the sharing of our faith stories.” That is how Rev. Danielle Dokman, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname describes her experience attending the fourth gathering of the Global Christian Forum (GCF) in Accra, Ghana. She was part of a 15-member strong Lutheran World Federation (LWF) delegation attending the meeting, focused on the theme ‘That the World May Know’.
Dokman, currently completing her doctoral studies at Luther Seminary in Minnesota (USA), was attending the global ecumenical forum for the first time and found it to be an “impactful” meeting. “This was a different kind of encounter,” she explains, “and I found myself sitting at the table with more ecumenical partners than before, some that I didn’t even know about, like the independent and migrant churches.”
Rather than focusing on doctrinal issues, she continues, the 15 to 19 April meeting brought together 250 participants from a wide variety of Christian churches and communities, "seeking to make connections through our shared identity in Christ.” In particular, she notes, “it will be helpful for me as we work to bring Pentecostals and Charismatic Christians to the table with mainline churches in Suriname,” a country characterized by a wide range of religious beliefs and practices.
The question of whose voices are represented around the table is a vital one.
Rev. Dr Johannes Zeiler, Church of Sweden theologian and ecumenist
“The question of whose voices are represented around the table is a vital one and one that I bring back home with me,” says Rev. Dr Johannes Zeiler from the Church of Sweden, another member of the official Lutheran delegation in Ghana. “It was the first time for me at the Global Christian Forum, but I think it very much reflects the methodology we used during the work of the International Lutheran-Pentecostal Dialogue Commision, of which I am a member,” he says.
Zeiler notes that as the Forum marks the 25th anniversary of its foundation, “it has proved that it is working very well, not in contrast to other networks, but really releasing a new dimension of what it means to bring more partners to the table. That means not only including Evangelicals and Pentecostals, but also bringing us Lutherans and other traditional churches into different types of conversations.”
As a canon chancellor at Linköping Cathedral in southern Sweden, Zeiler compares the round table conversations he experienced in Ghana with his work teaching young adults in his local congregation. “I reflected that the tools we use for our adult catechumenate are central to the work of the GCF: starting with our own lives, our own stories, listening respectfully in an atmosphere of learning and mutual support.”
