LWI 04-2009 English
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LWII n o r m a t i o nLutheran World
042009
Highlights
Pachnali, Far Western Province, Nepal, November 2007: Gore Sunar, 55, a bonded Dalit laborer, has worked or 25 years with no
salary, just to keep his our landlords happy so that they wont ask or repayment. A March 2009 LWF/WCC conerence in Bangkok,
Tailand, sought to generate churches solidarity with the plight o Dalits worldwide. Jakob Carlsen
Continues on page 7
When Elske van Gorkum took up her rst
job in a Dalit community in India, her hosts
could hardly believe what they heard when
she said there were no castes in her native
Netherlands. For them, a society without
castes is unthinkable, says van Gorkum,
but coming rom an egalitarian society, I
also had diculty at rst understanding
untouchability.
Van Gorkum, a development worker with
the Interchurch Organization or Develop-ment Cooperation, a Dutch aid organization,
shared her experience at an international
ecumenical conerence on justice or Dalits
held in Bangkok, Tailand, in late March.
Jointly organized by the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) and World Council o
Churches (WCC) the conerence sought
to generate solidarity and support within
churches and ecumenical organizations
worldwide by bringing into ocus the plight
o Dalits, who have suered rom caste-based discrimination or 3,500 years. Tere
are some 260 million Dalits worldwide, 200
million o them in India.
As part o the International Dalit Soli-
darity Network, van Gorkum lobbies her
government and the European Union to put
caste-based discrimination at the center o
the political, economic and development
relations with the countries where these
human rights violations occur.
Learning about the suering and
atrocities Dalits have endured gives mededication and commitment to stand beside
them in solidarity, says van Gorkum, who
has been working with Dalits since 2005.
AccompanimentGenerating such commitment to stand
beside the Dalits in their struggles is the
essence o global ecumenical solidarity
FEATURE: Ecumenical Solidarityon a Journey to Liberation
Churches Called to RecognizeImage o God in Dalit Women ...3Participants in a workshop at theGlobal Ecumenical Conerence on
Justice or Dalits in Bangkok, Tailand,highlighted the close connectionbetween caste and patriarchy...
Call or Lutheran Communion
Solidarity with CommunitiesAfected by Climate Change ...9A group o theologians, ethicists,anthropologists and sta working onadaptation and mitigation measuresrelated to climate change, are callingor the Lutheran communions globalsolidarity with vulnerable communitiesthat are acting to address the impact oclimate change...
Global Church OrganizationsWelcome Durban II Outcome,
With Some Regrets...............10wo global church organizations havecongratulated the United NationsDurban Review Conerence againstracism on the adoption o its outcomedocument, but regret that the lattermakes no mention o the plight ohundreds o millions o people aectedby caste-based discrimination...
FEATURE: Just When INeeded It Most .................... 11Mai can smile now, though most oher lie has been no smiling matter...
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Lutheran
World
Informa
tion Contents
Communio
Global Ecumenical Conerence on Justice or Dalits
3 ......... Churches Called to Recognize Image o God in Dalit Women
4 ......... Delegates Underline Need or Comprehensive Armative Action Policies5 ......... UN Durban Review Conerence a New Opportunity or Further Advocacy
1, 7 .....FEAURE: Ecumenical Solidarity on a Journey to Liberation
9 ........Call or Lutheran Communion Solidarity with Communities Afected by Climate Change
LWF Secretariat10 ......Global Church Organizations Welcome Durban II Outcome, With Some Regrets
Features & Themes11 ......FEATURE: Just When I Needed It Most
News in Brief2 ........Namibian Premier Welcomes Anti-Racism Conerence Outcome
8 ........Anniversary Celebrations Mark Lutheran Church Witness in Holy Land12 ......Budget Reductions Impact ELCA Engagement Overseas
The Lutheran World Federation
A Communion o Churches
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Pauline Mumia
German Editor
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Lutheran World Information (LWI)
is the inormation service
o the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF).
Unless specifcally noted,
material presented does not
represent positions or opinions
o the LWF or o its various units.
Where the dateline o an articlecontains the notation (LWI),
the material may be reely reproduced
with acknowledgment.
During a visit to the secretariat o the Lutheran World Federa-
tion (LWF), Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula said he
was satised with the deliberations and outcome o the 2024
April United Nations Durban Review conerence against rac-
ism, which he attended in Geneva, Switzerland.
At the 22 April meeting with the press at the LWF EcumenicalCenter oces, Angula said he considered the outcome document o
the Durban Review conerence as a moral compass whose moral au-
thority would guide and inspire action by citizens and their respective
governments and other institutions. (See related story on page 10.)
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko received the
prime minister, who was accompanied by Dr Kaire Mbuende,
Namibias ambassador to the UN in New York. Angula paid
tribute to the LWF and other church organizations or their
solidarity with Namibia during its independence struggle.
Te premier said HIV and AIDS was one o the major
social challenges or the country, noting the governmenthad established a comprehensive program to mitigate against
AIDS impact, promote prevention, provide treatment and care
support, and enhance awareness, among other initiatives. He
underlined the role o partnerships with local and international
organizations including churches in the ght against the pan-
demic. Namibia has an HIV prevalence rate o 15 percent.
In addition to other AIDS response initiatives, the three LWFmember churches in Namibia are ounding members o the Church
Alliance or Orphans, comprising 11 church organizations promot-
ing practical care and trauma healing or orphaned children.
Namibian Premier Welcomes Anti-Racism Conference Outcome
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko (right) and Namibian Prime Minister
Nahas Angula, during the meeting at the LWF Geneva secretariat. LWF/. Rakoto
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Global EcumEnical confErEncE
on JusticEfor Dalits
21-24 March 2009, Bangkok, Thailand
Churches Called to Recognize Image o God in Dalit Women
BANGKOK/GENEVA (LWI) Participantsin a workshop at the Global Ecumeni-
cal Conerence on Justice or Dalits in
Bangkok, Tailand, highlighted the
close connection between caste and pa-
triarchy. Te Lutheran World Federa-
tion (LWF) and the World Council o
Churches (WCC) organized the 2124
March gathering, which was hosted by
the Christian Conerence o Asia.
itled Multiple Discrimina-
tions: Special Characteristics o theSituation o Dalit Women and Dalit
Christians, the workshop uncovered
the additional layers o stigma and
degrading treatment Dalit women
ace as a result o their sex.
Te moment [a body] is a Dalit,
that body becomes eminized and
we need to seriously look into caste
and patriarchy together, challenged
Rev. Dr Evangeline Anderson-Raj-
kumar, chairperson o the depart-
ment o womens studies at United
heological College in Bangalore,
India, an ecumenical institution o
the Arcot Lutheran Church.
Caste, class and gender combine
to silence and subjugate Dalit women,
said Mr Pirbhu Satyani, advocacy
ocer or Tardeep Rural Develop-
ment Program in Pakistans Sindh
province. Dalit women are treated as
third-class citizens in Pakistan.
Caste-BasedDiscriminationAccording to Bishop Dr Vedan-
ayagam Devasahayam o the Church
o South India, Madras Diocese,
caste-based discrimination oten
contributes to the eminization o
poverty. In India, a majority o the
approximately 1.2 million Dalits
orced to do degrading, unsanitary
jobs or a pittance are women.
he women must clean dry
latrines with the help o minimum
aids, usually a pair o tin scrapers and
a wicker bucket or basket, remove
and carry human excreta on their
heads to the dumping sites, reported
Devasahayam.
Karuppaiah, a Dalit living in a
slum in Chennai in the southern
Indian state o amil Nadu, com-
mented, I obviously know it is dis-
gusting, but I have no option other
than to do this work.
Church-Based InitiativesChurch-based initiatives are taking
steps to oer Dalit women alterna-
tives to such debasing and impover-
ishing employment.
hrough the Slum Womens
Advancement Program, the Women
in Church and Society desk o
the United Evangelical Lutheran
Church (UELCI) in India providesmicroloans to women in the slums o
Chennai to help them establish new
livelihoods.
Rev. Dr Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar, chairperson, womens studies department, United Teological College
in Bangalore, India, addresses the conerence participants. WCC/Maurice Malanes
Bishop Dr Vedanayagam Devasahayam, Church o South India. LWF/P. Prove
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Delegates Underline Need or Comprehensive Afrmative Action PoliciesBANGKOK/GENEVA (LWI) Church
representatives at the recent LWF
and WCC ecumenical conerenceocusing on justice or Dalits in
Bangkok, underlined the need or
consistent implementation o com-
prehensive armative action poli-
cies in order to protect marginalized
groups rom discrimination.
Te conerence workshop Arma-
tive Action and Advocacy in Aected
Countries determined that members
o ostracized groups such as Dalits re-
mained social, economic and political
outcasts, even in countries with laws
targeting prejudicial practices.
Politicized Divide in IndiaIn India, armative action policies
exist to address specic issues such as
bonded and child labor, manual scav-
enging andjogni(ritual prostitution).
However, Mr Paul Divakar, a Dalit
activist representing the National
Campaign or Dalit Human Rights,noted that Dalit reality in India is
not a mark o national pride. It is in
act a shame.
He indicated that despite the
existence o dierent schemes and
programs to improve the socioeco-
nomic conditions o the poor and
marginalized, the plight o the Dalits
still remained largely unchanged.
According to various reports, 80 per-
cent o Dalits live in rural areas, 86percent are landless, 60 percent are
dependent on occasional employment
and only 30 percent are literate.
As a Dalit social activist, Divakar
said he elt the divide in the name
o caste was politicized. When notenorced, he contended, constitutional
laws in Indiain particular those in-
tended to integrate women and other
marginalized groupsbecome a arce
and mockery o the political structure,
and cited the example o armative
action reservation policies.
In theory such policies allocate
a proportionate percentage o places
in education, employment and poli-
tics to the Dalit populace. Divakar
however pointed out that many pres-tigious educational institutions such
as the Indian Institute o echnology
or the Indian Institute o Manage-
ment do not abide by the reservation
policies.
Divakar emphasized that thisdiscriminatory situation prevailed
not only in education but also in em-
ployment and politics, with the tacit
knowledge o the government. As a
result, large numbers o Dalits are
simmering with resentment about
the opportunities they are denied.
What pains me, lamented Di-
vakar, is that the ew Dalits who
are in the legislative assembly o the
government, whom the Dalits count
on to be their spokespersons to bringabout changes in their lives, are un-
der vested interests, hijacked to the
power games o politics.
Ms Indira Ghale, treasurer o the
Nepali Feminist Dalit Organization,
spoke about eorts by the LWF De-
partment or World Service program
in Nepal to empower Dalit women
through advocacy, income generation
and capacity building.
Workshop participantsdrawnrom churches, church-related and hu-
man rights organizations rom all over
the worldagreed that such initiatives
towards Dalit womens emancipation are
a welcome sign but raised the question
whether they could bear the desired result
in the ace o widespread, deep-rooted
prejudice present even in the churches.
Family LevelI have no issues sharing the Eucharist
with a Dalit but I will never get her
married to a boy who is a Dalit, as-serted a caste Christian rom India,
speaking about his daughter under
condition o anonymity.
Te participants called or the
churches to recognize the current
treatment o Dalit women as sinul
and dehumanizing. Tey urged the
worldwide ecumenical community to
arm that women are also created in
the image o God and that any orm
o abuse o women distorts the divine
image in each human being.
Some 95 leaders and representa-
tives o churches and human rightsand development organizations
worldwide attended the Bangkok
ecumenical conerence.
(By UELCI communication ocer,
imothy Melvyn)
27 March 2009
Indian Dalit activist Mr Paul Divakar (let), representing the National Campaign or Dalit Human Rights,
speaks during the workshop on a rmative action. On the r ight is LWF Deputy General Secretary Rev.
Chandran Paul Martin. UELCI
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Not a Uniquely IndianProblemParticipants heard about similar
dynamics in other countries. While
Nepal also has anti-discriminatory
laws in place, Dalits there, compris-
ing 20 percent o the population,
share the same predicament as Dalits
in India, according to Ms Indira
Ghale o the Nepali Feminist Dalit
Organization. Tough reservation
policies [are in place] in Nepal, Dalits
are deprived o their right to educa-
tion, employment and politics. Tey,
without other options, are pushed
[into] menial jobs.
Other South Asian countries
where caste is a dening reality, such
as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangla-
desh, have yet to enact armative
action legislature. According to Rev.
Vincent Manoharan, international
advocacy secretary o the National
Campaign or Dalit Human Rightsin Pakistan, all Pakistani Dalits,
whether Muslim, Hindu or Chris-
tian, ace discrimination rom the
government. Te Islamic state does
not recognize the Dalit issue, he
commented. Studies among Hindu
Dalits reveal that they are mostlybonded laborers, and Dalit Chris-
tians are doubly marginalized.
Manoharan pointed out that
Dalits primary orm o employment
in Bangladesh is as sweepers clean-
ing streets and collecting garbage.
In Sri Lanka, despite ethnic
struggle having a stronger impact,
caste-based thinking is prevalent
even among Buddhists. hough
not given the name
Dalit, people o In-
dian origin who are
Sri Lankan citizens
do not have the right
to vote.
Te workshop re-
vealed the need or
anti-discriminatory
policies outside the
region as well, even i
the concept o caste
is not expressed assuch.
In the Phi l ip-
pines, or example,
there is no caste system, according
to Rev. David abo-oy, dean o the
Episcopal Cathedral o the Resurrec-
tion in Baguio City. However, the
society is divided [into] majorities
and minorities. Te minorities are
[the] indigenous people similar to
the Aborigines o Australia. He
noted that there was legislature in
place to protect indigenous people,
but at the same time other laws suchas the Mining Act actually deprive
indigenous people o their rights, in
this case to land.
Countries such as the United States
o America, Ireland and Malaysia have
enacted armative action policies in
order to protect excluded groups.
Churches Called to
Solidarityhe church representatives at the
workshop called on the global ecu-
menical community to be more proac-
tive in ensuring that their respective
governments enact and implement
policies targeting discrimination.
Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta o
the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in the Republic o Namibia, and
LWF vice president or the Arican
region, pointed out
that a universal hu-
man rights issue was
at stake and, as such,
advocacy was not op-
tional or the church.
Discrimination and
oppression is a scan-
dal on humanity.
Our solidarity with
Dalits is not a avor;
it is our Christian
calling and respon-sibility to be involved
in the global Dalit
solidarity process.
(By UELCI communication ocer,
imothy Melvyn)
27 March 2009
UN Durban Review Conerence a New Opportunity or Further AdvocacyBANGKOK, Thailand/GENEVA (LWI)
Church leaders and human rights ad-vocates seek to urther internationalize
the struggle to overcome caste-based
discrimination, a 3,500-year old scourge
that aects hundreds o millions o
people worldwide. Te United Nations(UN) anti-racism review conerence,
late April in Geneva would be the rst
test o this strategy.
Caste-based discrimination se-
verely aects some 260 millionpeople worldwide, an estimated 200
million o them in India alone. In
India, considered the biggest democ-
Ms Indira Ghale, treasurer o the Nepali Feminist Dalit Organization advocated or Dalits right to education,
employment and political engagement. Lance Woodru
A human rights issue is at stake, said LWF
vice president, Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta.
UELCI/imothy Melvin
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Lutheran
World
Informa
tionracy in the world, these discriminatedpeople, once labeled and treated as
untouchable due to Brahmanic ritual
traditions viewing them as polluted
or polluting, now call themselves
Dalits (oppressed, crushed).
Caste-based discrimination is so
deeply entrenched that churches andhuman rights groups in India and
other caste-aected countries admit
they can hardly solve the problem on
their own. We need your solidarity,
they appealed to participants at the
our-day global ecumenical coner-
ence on justice or Dalits held in
Bangkok, Tailand.
Delegates to the Bangkok coner-
ence recognized progress in address-
ing caste-based discrimination by UNbodies such as the Committee on the
Elimination o All Forms o Racial
Discrimination, the Committee on
the Elimination o Discrimination
against Women, and the Interna-
tional Labour Organization.
Tey recalled the ailure o the
2001 UN World Conerence against
racism held in Durban, South Arica,
to address caste-based discrimina-
tion, but saw the 20-24 April Durban
Review Conerence in Geneva as a
new opportunity to internationalize
the issue.
In a statement titled the Bang-
kok Declaration and Call, coner-
ence participants called upon the
international community to oer
a platorm to those representing
Dalit communities at the Durban
Review Conerence, and urged all
participating governments to accept
the inclusion o caste-based discrimi-
nation in those discussions.
Moral Statement andMissionBut some Indian activists were not
pinning too much hope on the Durban
Review Conerence. Te Indian gov-
ernment has ensured that caste-based
discrimination would not be taken
up in Geneva, said Mr Vijaykumar
Parmar o the National Campaign or
Dalit Human Rights in India.
Parmar appealed to the ecumeni-
cal amily to make a moral statementand help churches around the world
become aware o caste-based dis-
crimination. Among the participants
committing themselves to urther ad-
vocacy within the churches globally
was Rev. Dr Lesley Anderson, chair-
person o the Caribbean Conerence
o Churches (CCC), who pledged to
take up the concern with his Roman
Catholic counterpart in the CCC.
Noting that Guatemala sup-
ported the cause o the Dalits at the
2001 Durban UN conerence, Par-
mar suggested that enlisting the help
o even small countries could advance
the Dalit struggle or liberation.
Trough the Bangkok Declaration,
participants at the conerence com-
mitted themselves to making Dalit
liberation a central mission objective.Te declaration calls upon churches in
caste-aected countries to be in ull
solidarity with the Dalit movements
and to speak with a united voice in
working toward Dalit liberation.
Monitor Caste AtrocitiesAccording to the declaration, church-
es are expected to implement aware-
ness-raising programs, empower
Dalits, monitor and respond to caste
atrocities. Tey would also encour-
age Dalits to express their culture in
worship, liturgy and theology, and
support Dalit womens initiatives.
In addition the text appeals to
the international community to
campaign or an end to manual
scavenging by the end o 2010. Tis
degrading, caste-based task orced
upon Dalits, entails removing hu-
man excrement barehanded rom drytoilets and transporting it in baskets
to dumping sites.
Te declaration also calls upon
churches in less or dierently a-
ected countries to provide resources
or solidarity work in both their own
and caste-aected countries, and
to acilitate mutual exchange and
exposure visits.
Churches in less aected coun-
tries are expected to lobby their gov-ernments and to urge private sector
companies and banks investing in
India to ensure that their investmentsMr Ashra annous (let), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, chats with Bishop
Devamani Bachu, Church o South India. WCC/ Maurice Malanes
Mr Vijaykumar Parmar represented the National
Campaign or Dalit Human Rights in India. Private
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encourage equal job opportunities
or Dalits.
Global Watch onViolence against Dalitso sustain an international campaign
against caste-based discrimination,the Bangkok Declaration calls upon
global ecumenical bodies to develop
their ongoing work on justice or
Dalits, particularly by initiating a
global watch on violence against
Dalits and communicating this to
member churches and beyond.
Te declaration also asks or the
establishment o a task group to ol-
low up on the Bangkok conerence.
In the meantime, participants atthe Bangkok conerence pledged to
help internationalize solidarity or
the Dalits in their own countries.
With Jesus love in my heart, Ill
carry and beat the drums or justice and
reedom or the Dalits, the Aricans
and other oppressed peoples, including
my own, because, as Christians, we
have to carry each others burden with
courage and without ear, said Ashra
annous o the Evangelical LutheranChurch in Jordan and the Holy Land.
(A joint LWF/WCC press release)
2 April 2009
and one o the strategic goals o the
Bangkok conerence.
It is up to us all to determine theoutcome o this conerence, but we
should be guided by the principle o
solidarity and accompaniment rather
than mere compassion and charity or
the Dalits, stresses Rev. Dr Deen-
abandhu Manchala, who heads the
WCC Just and Inclusive Communities
Programme and is a Dalit himsel.
Pro. Maake Masango o the Uni-
versity o Pretoria in South Arica agrees,
saying, Advocacy does not mean taking
over the lives o people or whom we
are advocating. It is instead helping
empower them. So we have to join and
journey with them in solidarity.
AwakeningMany o the delegates to the Bangkok
conerence admitted they knew little
about the story o the Dalits. Te
conerence thus awakened them to do
their part in helping spread the narra-
tives they heard as living stories.
Our churches are hardly aware o
the situation o the Dalits, and they
tend to dismiss the caste system as
part o the reedom o religion, says
Mr Dennis Frado o the LutheranOce or World Community at the
United Nations in New York. Ater
listening to the stories o the Dalits in
this conerence, we have to tell these
to our people, especially the issues
related to human rights.
Conerence participants learnt
about discrimination and atrocities
such as those that occurred in the
Indian state o Orissa in 2008, where
a Roman Catholic nun was gang-raped,nearly 50 people were killed, 15,000
people displaced, and property o Dalit
and tribal Christians was destroyed or
damaged during a wave o violence
unleashed by Hindu undamentalists.
Airming his commitment to
helping revitalize the Dalit move-
ment in the United States through his
church network, Frado said he would
help acilitate meetings between Dalit
communities and the US government,
and seek to bring cases o humanrights violations to the UN.
Children of GlobalSolidarityOther participants who had expe-
rienced discrimination and abuse
themselves, could easily empathize
with the Dalits.
We leave this conerence with a
sense o urgency to become a voice orthe voiceless Dalits, said Rev. Rox-
anne Jordan o the United Congre-
gational Church o Southern Arica,Pro. Maake Masango, University o Pretoria, South Arica,
speaks at one o the conerence workshops. UELCI
FEATURE: Ecumenical Solidarity on a Journey to Liberation
Continued rom p. 1
Conerence delegates Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos rom India, (let) and Rev. R oxanne Jordan, South
Arica, during a break session. UELCI/ imothy Melvin
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Lutheran
World
Informa
tion who related the Dalits plight withexperiences o discrimination and
exclusion under the apartheid white
minority rule in her country.
For Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta
o the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
the Republic o Namibia, accompanying
the Dalits and other victims o oppres-sion in their journey toward liberation
is his churchs way o saying thank you
to other people o the world who helped
his countrys liberation struggle.
We, too, are children o global
ecumenical solidarity. Without the
many peoples who accompanied us
in our journey toward reedom, we
might have been obliterated, says
Kameeta, who is LWF vice president
or the Arican region. So we are ac-
companying the Dalits not as a avor,but as a Christian duty, he adds.
Freelance journalist Maurice
Malanes rom the Philippines wrote
this eature article.
More inormation about the Bangkok
Dalit conerence is available on the
LWF Web site at:
www.lutheranworld.org/
What_We_Do/OIahr/
OIAHR-Dalit_Justice.html
Learn more about WCC work in soli-
darity with Dalits:
www.oikoumene.org/?id=3249
15 April 2009
Living Witness Creative Diakonia was the theme o estive
gatherings, worship, parades, dances, exhibitions and many
other activities, marking three important anniversaries o the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land(ELCJHL) rom 1617 May 2009.
ELCJHL Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan described the an-
niversary celebrations50 years o the ELCJHL, 30 years o
its Arabic bishopric, and 170 years o evangelical mission in
the Holy Landas a morale boost or church members and
or Arab Palestinian Christianity.
We were thankul that local and international society could
appreciate the work o this church and tell us, Go orward in
what you are doing. We are thankul or those who worked
beore us and handed us what they have received, said Younan.
But at the same time, we want to ask our people to continue in
this line o serving, because being loyal to our Christian witness,
our Christian call and apostolic vocation is in continuity with
Christs call at the ascension, Go to the whole world.
In his congratulatory message, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, gen-
eral secretary o the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) said
the ELCJHL was an integral part o the mother church in
Jerusalem; part o an unbroken history o Christian witness and
ministry in the Holy Land since the days o Christs lie on earth.
He noted the anniversary was also an occasion to celebrate the
churchs commitment to interaith dialogue and cooperation
and the search or peace in the region and globally.
Younan, LWF vice president or the Asian region, notedthe days around the celebration coincided with the visit o the
head o the Roman Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI to the
region. We are very happy, ater the visit o the pope, to show
that there is a witnessing evangelical Lutheran community that
is an integral part o the Christian community in Palestine-Israel,
Jordan and the Middle East, added the ELCJHL bishop.
Te ELCJHL currently has some 3,000 members. It joined
the LWF in 1974.
(ELCJHL communication assistant, Allison K. Schmitt, con-
tributed to this article.)
More inormation about the ELCJHLs 2009 anniversary celebrations
is available at: www.elcjhl.org/Anniversary_default.asp
#news
Anniversary Celebrations Mark Lutheran Church Witnessin Holy Land
ELCJHL Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and other members o the clergy leave
the sanctuary o the Lutheran Church o the Redeemer, Jerusalem, ater the
celebratory worship service. ELCJHL
Te alitha Kumi School scout troupe leads a procession o clergy through
Jerusalems Old City into the Lutheran Church o the Redeemer sanctuary or a
celebratory worship service on 17 May 2009. ELCJHL
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Lu
theranWorldInformation
Call for Lutheran Communion Solidarity
with Communities Affected by Climate Change
India: LWF Group Witnesses Villagers Eort to Secure Our Daily Bread
PURI, Orissa State, India/GENEVA (LWI)
A group o theologians, ethicists,
anthropologists and sta working onadaptation and mitigation measures
related to climate change, are calling
or the Lutheran communions global
solidarity with vulnerable communi-
ties that are acting to address the
impact o climate change.
o be in communion with cre-
ation, means to be in solidarity with
those victimized by climate change,
who inspire and motivate our com-
mitment and actions to redress climatechange, stated the 23 persons ol-
lowing a Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) Climate Change Encounter
in India, 1620 April, in Puri, in the
northeastern state o Orissa.
Te international event in disaster-
prone Orissa was aimed at witnessing
rst hand the dramatic eects o climate
change, and refecting on the intercon-
nections with other parts o the world. It
was organized by the LWF Department
or Teology and Studies (DS) in col-
laboration with the United Evangelical
Lutheran Church in India (UELCI)
and the Department or World Service
(DWS) associate program, Lutheran
World Service India (LWSI).
In addition to those rom the
UELCI and LWSI, participants
came rom LWF member churches in
Australia, Denmark, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Sweden and the USA, rom
DWS programs in Bangladesh and anzania, as well as other Christian
denominations and aiths. Te ve-day
event comprised visits to coastal sher
olk and armer communities around
the Bay o Bengal, analyses o climate
change, Bible story and worship.
In the six rural communities vis-
ited, the participants heard testimo-
nies rom and interacted with a large
number o persons, whose entire lives,
meaning and uture are deeply a-ected by climate change. Te LWSI
rura l development project is working
with such communities to educate,
empower people and support local
initiatives such as sel-help groups,
disaster management and village
development committees to counter
the impact o climate change.
Te initiatives to adapt and take
preventive measures include eorts to
continually plant more trees; educat-
ing children; promoting traditional
ood, well-being and health; and rely-
ing more on communal amily systems,
which can survive better amid climate
change. Community members are also
conscious o the need to build houses
on saer ground or raise them o the
ground; and to construct elevated tube
wells that guard against salinization
during looding. hrough coopera-
tion with government authorities and
various disaster alert mechanisms andgroups, villagers receive and plant new
seeds ater foods.
he LWF communiqu titled,
Witnessing to Hope Amid Rising
Waters, sums up what the events
participants witnessed, and also
invites solidarity with the hopeul
actions that the villagers are taking
or their uture.
As part o sharing the insights
rom the Puri communities with the wider Lutheran communion, the
participants recommend that the
process be broadened beore and dur-
ing Pre-Assemblies leading up to the
July 2010 LWF Eleventh Assembly
in Stuttgart, Germany.
Give Us oday Our Dai ly Bread
is the theme o the assembly, to be
hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Wrttemberg.
Te Puri event participants ex-
pressed support or the various
climate change-related advocacy
positions o the LWF Council and
member churches, and encouraged
similar response rom others. Tey
urged a strategic presence and LWF
message at the December 2009 Unit-
ed Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change in Copenhagen,
Denmark. o coincide with that
meeting, they proposed that a time
be designated and promoted globallyor ringing church (and other) bells
in order to emphasize the urgency o
redressing climate change.
The ull text o the communiqu
rom the LWF event in Puri is avail-
able at: www.lutheranworld.org
More inormation and urther refec-
tions about the LWF Eleventh Assem-
bly theme are available at:
www.lutheranworld.org/
Assembly2010_theme.html
7 May 2009
Fishermen going out to fsh early morning on the Bay o Bengal, Puri, Ori ssa, India. LWF/K. Bloomquist
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Lutheran
World
Informa
tion Global Church Organizations Welcome
Durban II Outcome, With Some RegretsNo Mention o Hundreds o Millions Aected
by Caste-Based Discrimination
GENEVA (LWI) wo global churchorganizations have congratulated
the United Nations Durban Review
Conerence against racism on the
adoption o its outcome document,
but regret that the latter makes no
mention o the plight o hundreds o
millions o people aected by caste-
based discrimination.
In a 24 April joint oral interven-
tion at the conerence in Geneva,
the Lutheran World Federation(LWF) and World Council o
Churches (WCC) welcomed the
rearmation o the 2001 DurbanDeclaration and Programme o
Action, as well as the international
communitys commitment to over-
come all orms o racism in all
parts o the world, including those
under oreign occupation.
However, the LWF and WCC
stated their regret that the coner-
ence had ailed to acknowledgethe suering o the more than 200
million people discriminated against
on the basis o work and descent.
Formerly known as untouchables, the
Dalits are invisible in the 21 April
outcome document, despite their
situation alling squarely under the
denition o racial discrimination by
UN standards.
In March, both organizations
convened a conerence in Bangkok,Tailand, at which representatives
o churches and church-related or-
ganizations rom around the worldexpressed their solidarity with the
Dalit struggle or justice.
ControversiesTe LWF/WCC intervention at the
UN conerence armed, Racism is a
sin because it destroys the very source
o humanitythe image o Godin humankind. Racism desecrates
Gods likeness in every person.
Both organizations said they were
satised that anti-Semitism and the
Holocaust, along with a number o
other groups and situations, had been
explicitly addressed in the outcome
document. But they expressed regret
that controversies over one single
situation have so consumed the at-
tention and energy o the Durbanprocess, rom 2001 until now.
hey welcomed the proposal
made by the UN High Commis-
sioner or Human Rights to create
an observatory on discrimination,
which may help throw urther light
on the situation o the millions o
victims o untouchability practices.
Tere are some 260 million Dalits
worldwide, 200 million o them in
India alone.
Another welcome development
was the exclusion o the concept o
deamation o religions rom the
conerence outcome document. By
not allowing the concept to inappro-
priately intrude into [the documents]
human rights ramework, the docu-
ment instead properly addresses
itsel to the stigmatization o persons
based on their religion or belie,
stated the LWF and WCC.
The ull text o the LWF/WCC
intervention at the Durban Review
Conerence is available at:
www.lutheranworld.org/
LWF_Documents/WCC-LWF_
Statement_Durban_Review_
Conference.pdf
24 April 2009
Te outcome document o the Geneva Durban Review conerence did not mention the plight o hundreds o
millions o Dalits such as these village leaders in Tullanmedu, Cuddalore district, o Indias amilnadu state.
Te Lutheran/Linda Macqueen
More LWI News at
www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html
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Lu
theranWorldInformation
FEATURE: Just When I Needed It MostThai Church Scholarships Help Needy Students Realize Their Dreams
BANGKOK, Thailand (LWI) Mai can
smile now, though most o her lie
has been no smiling matter.
wenty year-old Sirirat Rueang-
sri, known aectionately as Mai by
her relatives and riends, lives in a
small, congested two-room wooden
house with her mother in Lad Prao,
one o the areas in Bangkok that
epitomizes the citys economic divide.
Her mother is the sole bread winnerin the amily. With the meager wage
earned as a domestic worker in other
peoples homes, she could barely pay
Mais tuition ees. (Lie) was indeed
terrible and every moment o it is still
etched in my memory which can never
be erased, says Mai. Ater school she
would help her mother with laundry
work to supplement their income. Te
death o Mais ailing grandmother
let a huge debt which made lie evenmore dicult or the two women.
As a single parent acing an increas-
ingly dicult time making a living,
Mais mother had to take some drastic
steps. Unortunately, it was Mai who
had to ace the brunt o her decisions.
My lie came to a standstill when I
was told that I [would] not be able to
continue studies urther, she recalls.
She says she was despondent that she
needed to sacriice her passion or
education. Pursuing studies in the
eld o communication arts is my pas-
sion. Besides the studies, Mai oundthat just going to school exposed her
to an open, riendly, accommodating
milieu, a stark contrast to the situation
at home. At school she was able to live
her dream. But that dream seemed
about to suddenly vanish into thin
aira not unusual scenario or people
living in the lowest strata o society the
world over.
Mai knew the importance o
education and desperately wanted tostudy so that she could have a career
and break away rom the etters o
poverty. I did not know what to do,
where to go and whom to ask (or
help), she told this writer.
Helping FamiliesIt was at this juncture that the Lu-
theran Diakonia Department (LDD)
o the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Tailand (ELC) oered her sup-
port through its Family Development
Ministry program that helps amiliesimprove their living standards. Te
LDD sta had known the amily
through its ministry among elders,
which assisted Mais grandmother
when she was ill. Mai, a Buddhist,
was enlisted in their scholarship
program. Our goal is to share Gods
love with people in need, says dea-
coness Leena Helle, LDD director.
Te department helps people who are
in dire need, irrespective o religion,social status or gender.
Te LDD was established in 1987
as an ELC department responsible
Tanks to scholarship support rom the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tailand, Ms Sirirat Rueangsri is confdent about realizing her dream career.
UELCI/imothy Melvin
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Lutheran
World
Informa
tion
Publishedanddistributedby:
TheLutheranWorldFederation
150,routedeFerney
P.O.Box2100
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Tel.+41/22-7916111
Fax+41/22-7916630
www.lutheranworld.org
or the churchs diaconal work. Te di-
aconal ministries include work among
children, youth, unmarried pregnant
women, elderly people, amilies and
people living with HIV.
Mai has been a beneciary o the
scholarship program since she was in
Grade 9 (around 14 years old). Sheis now a third-year bachelors degree
student in communication arts at the
Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University
in Bangkok. When asked how she eels,
she exclaims with a beaming smile, My
lie has taken a total transormation.
Te scholarship came to her as a boon
just when I needed it most. However,
she still needs to depend on her mothers
support because the college ee s exceed
the scholarship amount she receives.
Trough the LDD diaconal work,
Mai came in acquaintance with the
local Lad Prao Lutheran congregation,
an encounter that has turned her lie
around. She is now a baptized Christian.
he conversion process took almostthree years. She is an active member o
the congregation and is a member o the
ELC youth committee. Her mother
was also recently baptized.
Fortunate and OptimisticMai is optimistic about her uture.
Ater my studies I will surely get a
respectable job and I need not worry
about my daily bread, she says. Her
aim is to become an editor in a lead-
ing newspaper and, more importantly,
she wants her mother to quit her job
and stay home. She (her mother)
has toiled her entire lie or my sake
and it is my duty to take care o herwhen I earn. I am ortunate that I am
able to continue my studies, adds the
communication arts student.
Still, according to Helle, the ELC
is aware that there are many young
people in that same area o Tailand
who are deprived o an education.
She arms the LDDs commitment
to continue to seek support or them,
drawing inspiration rom Jesus words,
as you did it to the least o these whoare members o my amily, you did it
to me (Matthew 25:40).
imothy Melvyn, communica-
tion ocer or the United Evangelical
Lutheran Church in India, wrote this
eature during a recent visit to Bangkok,
Tailand.
*The article is in the continuingLWI eatures series ocusing on
the topic Give Us Today Our DailyBread, the theme o the LWF
Eleventh Assembly, which will takeplace 2027 July 2010 in Stuttgart,
Germany.
27 May 2009
Mai hopes to take better care o her mother, with whom she lives in the amily home in Lad Prao, Bangkok,
Tailand. UELCI/ imothy Melvin
A signicant decline in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) nancial resources led to budget reductions
or the churchwide organization, particularly or ELCA Global
Mission. Te reduction will aect the churchs ministry overseas,
including its support to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).ELCA Global Mission reduced its budget by USD 3.6 mil-
lion or 11.4 percent. According to Rev. Raael Malpica Padilla,
ELCA Global Mission executive director, the reductions wil l
hit hard companion churches and the LWF, already dealing
with the impact o the global nancial crisis. Te measures
will also aect sta travel, services and support or the units
various programs and unctions.
Te 4.7-million member ELCA joined the LWF in 1988. It is
headed by Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, also LWF president.(ELCA News Service)
The ull story is available on the News Releases section o the
ELCA web site at: www.elca.org
Budget Reductions Impact ELCA Engagement Overseas
