Reformierter Weltbund: Jugend in der Evangelisch reformierten Kirche Lithauens soll sich als David gegen Goliath erheben

In Erinnerung an Calvin als jungen Reformator ermutigt Generalsekretär Nyomi die Reformierte Kirche in Lithauen, jungen Leuten Raum für ihre Begabungen zu geben

(WARC, 24. Juni 2009) Youth should be entrusted with church leadership positions a senior Reformed church executive has told leaders of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania.

Acknowledging recent problems with leadership in the Lithuanian church, the general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), told members of the church’s governing body that: “It took a very young man, David, to confront and slay Goliath, even though he did not have the giant’s stature.”

Evoking the story of the giant Goliath’s threats to the people of Israel, Setri Nyomi said, “Let us listen to our young people. They can inspire us to renew our commitment to God in a way that makes a difference.”

The comments were made in a sermon preached at a weekend [20/21. Juni 2009] worship service in the northeastern city of Birzai during the church synod’s annual meeting. In his remarks, Nyomi offered the biblical story of David and Goliath as an example of how young people can confront and overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges facing their people.

In the biblical account of the battle between David and Goliath, the young man draws on his faith in God for the courage to confront and fell his Philistine opponent armed with only a slingshot.

Nyomi expressed his appreciation for the work of the church’s current senior leader, General Superintendent Rimas Mikalauskas, saying: “In these times of transition, Rev. Mikalauskas is doing great work to rebuild the church and to keep it faithful to its mission.”

The synod was meeting in the context of worldwide celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Protestant Reformer, John Calvin. In a later presentation linked to the Calvin Jubilee, Nyomi referred to how young Calvin was at the time he was given responsibility for rebuilding the church in Geneva and urged older church members in Lithuania to “create space for young people to use their gifts, just as Calvin’s gifts were affirmed in his twenties.”

Roman Catholics make up 79 per cent of Lithuania’s population, followed by Eastern Orthodoxy at 4.9 per cent. Protestants represent 1.9 per cent of the population, with the largest number being Lutheran. The Reformed Church of Lithuania, first chartered over 450 years ago, lost most of its clergy and membership and all of its property following 1945 when Russia took over the country. When the country regained its independence in 1991, church property was returned. Since then, the church has struggled to rebuild. Today only a few of those church facilities have been restored; there are eight ordained clergy and a church membership of 10,000.

“My experience in the synod meetings told me this church has the ‘David spirit,’” Nyomi says. “The time is right for youth with their gifts of energy, vision and faith, to take up roles in the church and confront both its internal and external challenges.”

Internetseite der Evangelisch reformierten Kirche Lithauens
http://www.ref.lt/

Internationale Konsultation Südafrika: Reformierte Kirchen analysieren Auswirkungen der globalen Wirtschaftskrise

Vizepräsident Weusmann (ERK) erinnert an ständigen Dialog zwischen Kirchen in Deutschland und Südafrika
(WARC/RWB, 2. September 2009). Eine Zusammenkunft von reformierten Kirchen weltweit beginnt diese Woche in Johannesburg, Südafrika; im Zentrum der Debatten wird die Rolle stehen, die die Kirchen bei dem Ruf nach wirtschaftlicher Gerechtigkeit und Schutz der Umwelt zu spielen haben.

Pressemitteilung des Reformierten Weltbundes

Internationale Calvin-Konferenz in Budapest

Ein Bericht von Lajos Békefy
Europäische Wissenschaftler haben sich in Budapest zu einem internationalen Calvin-Symposium getroffen. Die Fachtagung mit über 200 Vorlesungen fand statt im Rahmen der Jahresversammlung des Kollegium der Doktoren der Reformierten Kirche Ungarns vom 24. bis 28 August 2009.

Dr. Lajos Békefy
(WARC, Juli 2009) Christians are increasingly articulate critics of economic, social and environmental abuse. What is often missing for ordinary people in those critiques is an idea of what they can do to make a difference at home, in their parishes and in the broader community.
(WARC, 25. August 2009) The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu will be following God's will by taking a leading role in efforts to reverse the effects of climate change according to the leader of a global alliance of Reformed churches.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 9:04 (EST)

Calvin als Aktivist für den Umweltschutz

Vor 453 Jahren verurteilte der Reformator das Roden von Wäldern
Das Roden von Bäumen sei eine ''Grausamkeit'', die besonders unter Christen zu finden sei, habe Calvin schon 1555 gepredigt, sagte Setri Nyomi, Generalsekretär des Reformierten Weltbundes auf einem Seminar in Vanuatu.

Barbara Schenck

'Jene 14 Tage kann man nicht vergessen'

Wie ungarische Pfarrer DDR-Flüchtlinge betreuten
1989 bröckelte die Mauer nach Ungarn. Beim „paneuropäischen Picknick“ flohen über 600 DDR-Bürger. Lajos Békefy erinnert sich an die Tage als Pfarrer im Flüchtlingslager.

Lajos Békefy

die reformierten.upd@te 09.2

Das reformierte Quartalsmagazin / Juni 2009
In diesen Tagen erscheint die neue Ausgabe von die reformierten.upd@te 09.2. Die Themen: Das Reformierte Zentrum auf dem Kirchentag und der Calvin-Festakt in Berlin - aktuelle Meldungen aus dem Reformierten Weltbund - die Predigt von Peter Bukowski zu Psalm 68 im ARD-Fernsehgottesdienst aus dem Französischen Dom zu Berlin am 12. Juli 2009

Jörg Schmidt, Generalsekretär des Reformierten Bundes, 10. August 2009

Church of Scotland begrüßt Entscheidung, den Lockerbie-Attentäter aus der Haft zu entlassen

''Eine Botschaft für die Welt, was es heißt, Schottisch zu sein''
Edinburgh (ENI). The (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland has said it fully supports a decision taken by the Scottish Government on 20 August to release the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, on compassionate grounds. ''This decision has sent a message to the world about what it is to be Scottish,'' the Rev. Ian Galloway, convenor of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, said in a statement. ''We are defined as a nation by how we treat those who have chosen to hurt us. Do we choose mercy even when they did not choose mercy?''

Barbara Schenck
As Reformed churches worldwide prepare to celebrate the 500th anniversary on 10 July of the birth of Protestant Reformation leader, John Calvin, leaders of a global movement of Reformed churches have issued a statement calling on Christians to commemorate Calvin not as a saint but as a source of inspiration for responding to contemporary social and environmental concerns.

Pressemeldung des WARC, 8. Juli 2009

Reformierte Kirchen sagen: Calvin machte aus Genf die internationale Stadt, die sie heute ist

Genf: Stadt Calvins und Stätte eines internationalen Calvinismus
(WARC/RWB) In Genf soll am 10. Juli eine kirchliche Gedenkfeier den 500. Jahrestag der Geburt Calvins, des Vorkämpfers der protestantischen Reformation, markieren. Diese Feier soll dem Einfluss des französischen Reformators auf die internationale Ausstrahlung und das Profil seiner Adoptivstadt gewidmet sein.

Pressemeldung des Reformierten Weltbundes vom 7. Juli 2009