Romanian Pastor Doerr Calls for "Structural Lobbying" to Care for Creation
BRATISLAVA, Slovak Republic/GENEVA, 15 March 2010 (LWI) - In Christian tradition, justice is not just a matter of distributing material resources. The creator God enables justice, "by endowing us and all creatures with good gifts, especially the gift of life." Lutheran pastor Kilian Doerr, from Sibiu/Hermannstadt (Romania), emphasized this in his 14 March keynote address to the European region preparatory consultation for the July 2010 LWF Eleventh Assembly.
BRATISLAVA, Slovak Republic/GENEVA, 15 March 2010 (LWI) - In Christian tradition, justice is not just a matter of distributing material resources. The creator God enables justice, "by endowing us and all creatures with good gifts, especially the gift of life." Lutheran pastor Kilian Doerr, from Sibiu/Hermannstadt (Romania), emphasized this in his 14 March keynote address to the European region preparatory consultation for the July 2010 LWF Eleventh Assembly.
Christians have the task "to take people with them into the yearning that sustains us as Christians and on the way to offer them some of the manna that we, too, have received," Doerr told participants in the 13 to 17 March LWF pre-assembly consultation taking place in Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
The Romanian pastor offered reflections on the LWF Assembly theme "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread" from a perspective of churches in the changing Central and East European region. Analyzing the historical developments and present situation of the Transylvanian church he stated: "Probably people in western Europe will have to get used to spending a major share of their income on food, as has always been the case in eastern Europe." In his view, it would be necessary today to hold an "East-West dialogue" on the topic: "Teach us to become a bit less affluent and we will teach you to be happier with a bit less affluence."
On the present situation in Europe, Doerr remarked critically: "Our present lifestyle consumes too much forest, water and land, too much coal and oil, gas and uranium." Although these facts are known and the solutions are obvious, the governments of most countries are incapable of reacting appropriately, he added
Doerr called on the worldwide Lutheran communion to "start doing structural lobbying." He especially highlighted the "dubious mass tourism project" of a "Dracula Park" near Schaessburg/Sighisoara in Romania. Churches and civil society there had joined forces to prevent the development in a natural reserve of this park, which, according to the Lutheran pastor, is "as unnecessary as it is monstrous."
The Four Most Effective Steps
If individuals, congregations and churches want to avoid "sabotaging" the prayer for daily bread, Doerr suggested the "four most effective steps" that should be taken: using air travel only as a last resort; as far as possible avoid driving alone in one's car; eating less meat;; and ensuring heat insulation in one's home. He said he was convinced it would be impossible to bring about a significant reduction of our personal “ecological footprint” without these efforts.
More information on the LWF Pre-Assemblies is available under the "Journey" section of the LWF Assembly Web site at: http://www.lwf-assembly.org
The Romanian pastor offered reflections on the LWF Assembly theme "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread" from a perspective of churches in the changing Central and East European region. Analyzing the historical developments and present situation of the Transylvanian church he stated: "Probably people in western Europe will have to get used to spending a major share of their income on food, as has always been the case in eastern Europe." In his view, it would be necessary today to hold an "East-West dialogue" on the topic: "Teach us to become a bit less affluent and we will teach you to be happier with a bit less affluence."
On the present situation in Europe, Doerr remarked critically: "Our present lifestyle consumes too much forest, water and land, too much coal and oil, gas and uranium." Although these facts are known and the solutions are obvious, the governments of most countries are incapable of reacting appropriately, he added
Doerr called on the worldwide Lutheran communion to "start doing structural lobbying." He especially highlighted the "dubious mass tourism project" of a "Dracula Park" near Schaessburg/Sighisoara in Romania. Churches and civil society there had joined forces to prevent the development in a natural reserve of this park, which, according to the Lutheran pastor, is "as unnecessary as it is monstrous."
The Four Most Effective Steps
If individuals, congregations and churches want to avoid "sabotaging" the prayer for daily bread, Doerr suggested the "four most effective steps" that should be taken: using air travel only as a last resort; as far as possible avoid driving alone in one's car; eating less meat;; and ensuring heat insulation in one's home. He said he was convinced it would be impossible to bring about a significant reduction of our personal “ecological footprint” without these efforts.
More information on the LWF Pre-Assemblies is available under the "Journey" section of the LWF Assembly Web site at: http://www.lwf-assembly.org
