RECONCILIATION   REUNIFICATION

Experiences of EMW in Solidarity and Sharing

A presentation at the

"Consultation on Solidarity for Peace in North-East Asia - Sharing Commitment and Resources"

Macao, 29.1.-2.2.1996

"Being receivers and givers - the experiences of German Christians 1945-1996"

After the devastation caused by the Second World War the German churches lived through a period of shame and guilt. Shortly after the end of the war they came together in Stuttgart, confessing their guilt in not having resisted the terrible dictatorship of the Nazi regime and not having protected the victims of the oppression. Although there had been some Christians fighting for justice and peace against the inhuman regime, the churches as organisations had not stood up. In Stuttgart 1945, the churches asked the ecumenical community of churches for forgiveness. With deep gratitude and humbleness the churches in Germany received the forgiveness of their brothers and sisters in the worldwide community. In the following years German churches also received a lot of practical help to survive and to build up a new society in Germany. This is our experience in being receivers of Christian love in word and deed in times of great spiritual distress and physical need!

In the fifties, the situation in Germany changed economically for the better. At the same time we got to know about war, hunger and suffering in other parts of the world. Remembering the generosity of our Christian brothers and sisters towards us we wanted now to bring help to those in need elsewhere. The first campaigns of Bread for the World (of the Protestant churches) and Misereor (of the Catholic church) started. From being receivers of international help the Germans changed to being givers.

The amount of donations grew quickly and steadily from year to year. the consciousness for the responsibility of the churches in Germany grew and changed, too. It all started with the spontaneous help for people suffering in disasters. But soon the churches learned - like other aid organisations of the western world - that help in catastrophes was not the only task. "Help people in such a way that they may help themselves afterwards" was the new idea soon. People should not only survive but they should be given the means of developing a society in justice and peace so that they become independent and are not stuck as receivers of help. This was the beginning of a reflected and professional development aid work of secular and church organisations in Germany.

"Looking for the equal sharing of resources"

In the ecumenical community the dissatisfaction with the unequal balance of power between "givers" and "receivers" of financial aid led to a movement which culminated in the WCC-Consultation on Ecumenical Sharing of Resources in 1987 (El Escorial). The churches then were invited to recognise that all resources on earth belong equally to all mankind - although they are in fact distributed in an unjust and unequal way. The "giving" of the churches in the North was understood not as Christian "charity" but as restoration of the originally meant equalness which had been destroyed in the countries of the Third World (often enough by the colonial power of the North over the South).

The German churches support the recommendations of El Escorial trying to build up real partnership in their relations to churches in the South. As a consequence, most of the million organisations in Germany are now in a process of restructuring in order to let their overseas partners participate in the decision finding processes.

Despite this we still feel that the difference of resources unfortunately leads often to unbalanced relationships. Yet, there are three fields of church work where we have experienced the richness of the sharing with the South: 1. in the experiences the German ecumenical co-workers brought back from their host countries to our churches; 2. in the experience of ecumenical co-workers from overseas countries working in German churches; 3. in the experiences of theological education in overseas churches for the reform of theological education in Germany.

"The profile of the churches development aid work in Germany"

The ecumenical process of understanding the sharing of resources shaped the work of the German churches in many aspects.

First, they acknowledged that the finances for this work could not only depend on individual donations but that all churches had to give a certain percentage of their annual income for development aid programmes and the necessary administration. During the unification of Germany and the opening of the East European countries when a lot of new financial burdens fell on the German churches, they nevertheless resolved that the same percentage as before should be earmarked for the development aid in the countries of the so-called "Third World".

Secondly, when the tasks of development aid multiplied, the churches responded by building up a network of church development agencies called Association of the Churches’ Development Services (AGKED). EMW is a member of this Association besides Bread for the World, the Protestant Association for Cooperation in Development (EZE), Service Overseas (DUe) and the Church Development Service (KED). They all have their special profile being experts for certain aspects of development aid work. They all receive an income from the percentage of the churches’ income earmarked for development aid. Bread for the World gets its funds mainly from donations (by individuals and through Sunday service collections); EZE’s projects are mainly funded by government aid.

EMW’s special profile in the AGKED lies in fostering the links to the churches and their mission organisations in Germany and overseas. As every EMW member (church or mission organisation) has its own historical links with partners in the ecumenical community, it is the role of EMW to provide a structure of coordination and cooperation amongst the churches in Germany and to help the overseas churches find the right contacts with churches, mission organisations and church agencies in Germany.

"Theological perspectives on development work of the churches in Germany"

We understand the development aid work of the church as being an integral part of the mission of the church as a whole:
In the act of creation God bestowed upon mankind the freedom and the responsibility to "dominate the earth". Following the history of God with His people Israel it is very clear that the freedom of mankind is meant to create a society in justice and peace, not to devastate the earth by selfish brutality.

In Jesus Christ God has manifested His love for the whole creation. As Jesus Christ has turned again and again to the marginalised in the society, it is our mission to follow Christ to the poor and rejected, to speak up for them and to be their advocates.

We are looking forward to the new creation. In Jesus Christ the Kingdom of God has come to the world, since then we may see glimpses of the world to come. And we may set signs of justice and peace which we hope to see one day overflowing in the new creation. Christians do not resign but hope and fight against all powers of injustice and violence.

"Solidarity for Peace - experiences of German churches during the last decades"

We understand that it is the genuine task of the churches to bring peace to a violent world. Our Lord is the "Prince of Peace", we are His disciples. The German churches (Protestant and Catholic together) have for quite a time now supported peace initiatives of churches and other non-government organisations in countries like South Africa, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Philippines, El Salvador, Guatemala and others. Although the contexts of the conflicts have been different in each country we have learned again and again that you cannot have peace without justice. So, the initiatives of peace have always meant to be in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the marginalised in the society.

Being in solidarity has also meant to inform the German public about the situation of people in other countries suffering under poverty, human rights violations, discrimination of ethnic and/or religious groups. During recent years the striving for an equal community of women and men has become a special concern for the churches in Germany, as well as in the development aid work as in the advocacy work for our own society and church life. We acknowledge that the empowerment of women is a necessary step towards a just and peaceful society - women are often enough advocates of peace.

"Solidarity for Peace in North-East Asia - experiences of church partnership between Germany and East Asia, especially Korea"

During the seventies and eighties when in East Asia oppressive regimes led to the suffering of many people (intellectuals and grassroots alike) German churches tried to stand at the side of their partner churches in South Korea and in Taiwan. German bishops visited enjailed church leaders and politicians in South Korea and Taiwan; German churches organised campaigns for Taiwanese and Korean victims of human rights violations.

EMW published materials on the situation in these countries, it introduced the critical voices of Asian churches to the German public (f.e. Minjung-Theology).

EMW also supported strongly the WCC-initiative for the encounter and reconciliation between North and South Korean Christians (the Glion and Tozanso Process). We understand our participation in this conference as a consequence of the long years of partnership with our Korean partners striving for reconciliation and reunification on the Korean peninsula.

After the unification of Germany we have shared our experiences as Christians and citizens of a reunified country with our ecumenical partners in Korea (f.e. at the consultation of EMW/EKD and NCCK in May 1993 in Bad Saarow: sharing the grievances and the joys of German unification, looking for consequences for the Korean situation).

"Hopes and Visions - Implementation of this initiative"

Out of our experiences in the unified Germany we have learned that unification is a long, difficult way, not a state you are suddenly in. Forty years of different ideological and cultural systems, great differences

in the economical situation will not vanish overnight. So, our hope is that North and South Korea will reunite one day, too. Our vision for this is, that it will still be a long way to go, before and after the date of reunification. So, we assume, you will need a lot of patience, never ending hope, the persistent power of the water drop which will wash away the stone.

Our encounter wit the newly opened countries of Eastern Europe has proved for all development agencies (Christian and non-Christian alike) that you need non-governmental organisational structures to build up a civil society. The more non-government organisations are available the more sectors of society will be able to contribute to the economical and ethical restructuring of the society. We experience that the non-existence of NGO’s makes it very difficult to channel the help we want to contribute to Eastern Europe. So, we see that the implementation of this initiative and the structure of development aid in North Korea will also depend on the growth of NGOs there.

This initiative, we hope, will be one step on the long way to a unified, just and peaceful Korea. We will support this initiative as much as possible Yet, we have to remain in the framework of the church agencies in Germany. When we know the exact results of this conference we will bring back the information to the AGKED and the churches and mission organisations in Germany. Then we will resolve together how to implement best these plans in the German structures. Unfortunately we are handicapped in our work because of the going down of the finances of the German churches (you may have heard of this already). But we will do what we can for the ongoing dialogue and the path of reconciliation between North and South Korea.

Hamburg, 22.1.1996