Kairos for Creation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
KAIROS FOR CREATION Confessing Hope for the Earth The international and ecumenical conference on eco-theology, ethics of sustainability and eco-friendly churches The “Wuppertal Call” – Contributions and Recommendations from an took place in June 2019 in Wuppertal/Germany and was organized jointly by Bread for the World, the Protestant International Conference on Eco-Theology and Ethics of Sustainability Association of Churches and Mission (EMW), the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), United Evangelical Mission Wuppertal, Germany, 16 – 19 June 2019 (UEM) and the World Council of Churches (WCC). It was a conference with lasting impressions, enriching and encouraging experiences of sharing and a remarkable outcome in content: Edited by Louk Andrianos, Michael Biehl, Ruth Gütter, Jochen Motte, 51 participants from over 22 different countries, men and women from different cultural, denominational and Andar Parlindungan, Thomas Sandner, Juliane Stork and Dietrich Werner religious backgrounds, theologians, eco-activists, scientists and representatives of Faith Based Organizations gathered to share their insights, their experiences, their convictions, their doubts, their joy and their sorrows about fundamental eco-theological questions which are becoming more and more important and crucial for the continu- Confessing Hope for the Earth ation of life in our world, which is God’s creation. At the end of the conference the participants adopted the “Wuppertal Call: Kairos for creation – Confessing Hope for the Earth” which recommends to the World Council of Churches (WCC) to declare a “Decade for the Healing of Creation”. Kairos for Creation – ISBN 978-3-938180-69-3 19 KAIROS FOR CREATION Confessing Hope for the Earth The international and ecumenical conference on eco-theology, ethics of sustainability and eco-friendly churches The “Wuppertal Call” – Contributions and Recommendations from an took place in June 2019 in Wuppertal/Germany and was organized jointly by Bread for the World, the Protestant International Conference on Eco-Theology and Ethics of Sustainability Association of Churches and Mission (EMW), the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), United Evangelical Mission Wuppertal, Germany, 16 – 19 June 2019 (UEM) and the World Council of Churches (WCC). It was a conference with lasting impressions, enriching and encouraging experiences of sharing and a remarkable outcome in content: Edited by Louk Andrianos, Michael Biehl, Ruth Gütter, Jochen Motte, 51 participants from over 22 different countries, men and women from different cultural, denominational and Andar Parlindungan, Thomas Sandner, Juliane Stork and Dietrich Werner religious backgrounds, theologians, eco-activists, scientists and representatives of Faith Based Organizations gathered to share their insights, their experiences, their convictions, their doubts, their joy and their sorrows about fundamental eco-theological questions which are becoming more and more important and crucial for the continu- Confessing Hope for the Earth ation of life in our world, which is God’s creation. At the end of the conference the participants adopted the “Wuppertal Call: Kairos for creation – Confessing Hope for the Earth” which recommends to the World Council of Churches (WCC) to declare a “Decade for the Healing of Creation”. Kairos for Creation – ISBN 978-3-938180-69-3 19 f For Human Rights Publication of the Department for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation of the United Evangelical Mission Edited by Jochen Motte Volume 20 KAIROS FOR CREATION Confessing Hope for the Earth The “Wuppertal Call” – Contributions and Recommendations from an International Conference on Eco-Theology and Ethics of Sustainability Wuppertal, Germany, 16 – 19 June 2019 Edited by Louk Andrianos, Michael Biehl, Ruth Gütter, Jochen Motte, Andar Parlindungan, Thomas Sandner, Juliane Stork and Dietrich Werner foedus Copyright © 2019 foedus-verlag, Solingen This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of reprinting, translation, reproduction on microfilms and the storage and processing in data banks. Cover illustration: MediaCompany – Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH www.mediacompany.com Printed on Recycling-Offset paper. CO2 compensated. Edited by Louk Andrianos, Michael Biehl, Ruth Gütter, Jochen Motte, Andar Parlindungan, Thomas Sandner, Juliane Stork and Dietrich Werner ISBN 978-3-938180-69-3 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Wuppertal Call: Kairos for Creation – Confessing Hope for the Earth 9 Kairos for Creation – Editorial Ruth Gütter and Jochen Motte 13 Introduction Dietrich Werner 15 ECUMENICAL LEARNING JOURNEYS Freedom for Limitation. Protestant Theological Insights for a Culture of Sustainability Ruth Gütter 23 What is God really up to in a Time like this? Discerning the Spirit’s Movements as Core Task of Christian Eco-Theology Ernst Conradie 31 Eco-Theology – Elements of the Learning Journey in the Ecumenical Movement Dietrich Werner 45 Integral Ecology in the Witness of the Orthodox Church. The CEMES Ecological Project Petros Vassiliadis 59 Eco-Theology and Human Responsibility – A Catholic Perspective to the Ecological and Climate Crises Ingeborg Gabriel, Guillermo Kerber 71 The Theological Confession of Barmen – Its Significance 1934 and Today Jochen Motte 79 Eco-Theology and Perspectives from the Tradition of Barmen Markus Mühling 83 REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES Justice by Faith and Eco-Justice Daniel Beros 91 Inter-religious Cooperation in Eco-ethics. A Latin-American Perspective Neddy Astudillo 99 Table of Contents 5 Environmental Sustainability and Eco-Justice: Reflections from an African Pentecostal Emmanuel Anim 107 Eco-Theology in an African Perspective: Why the Delay to Embody Eco-Theology in African Christianity? Kambale Kahongya Bwiruka 121 Mapping Recent Major Eco-Theological Initiatives from Scandinavian Perspectives Henrik Grape 133 The role of Interreligious Dialogue in Preserving the Ecological Environment: Indonesia as an Example Andar Parlindungan, Daniel Sinaga 137 Alternative Concepts of Growth and the Ecology of Life in China Today Theresa Carino 141 Regional Approaches to Eco-Theology in Korea: Different Focuses and Emphases Meehyun Chung 151 Christian Identity Approaching Climate Change in a Dialogue with Secularity Peter Pavlovic 155 Islam as God’s Mercy for the Universe (Rahmatan lil Alamin). A Crucial Need for Trustworthy Dialogue among Religious Communities on Global Climate Change Syafiq Hasyim 157 Shortcomings in Teaching Eco-Theological Awareness in the History and Life of the Batak Church (HKBP) Victor Tinambunan 161 THEMATIC CONTRIBUTIONS Worship as Place-Based Ecological Formation Chad Rimmer 171 Economy of Life Index and Greed Line as Alternative Concepts of Sustainability Louk Andrianos 181 The Thirdarty P in the Covenant: a Theology of Animals Bernd Kappes 203 Noken - An Eco-Ethic Metaphor for a Creation-Based Mission Model: From “Soul Evangelism” to “Life-Flourishing Evangelism” Maraike Bangun 213 The Created Lived and Vulnerable Body Resonating with the World. Perspectives for a Non-Anthropocentric Anthropology and a Body-Sensitive Eco-Theology Claudia Jahnel 223 6 Table of Contents Eco-Feminism and Eco-Feminist Theology. Reclaiming Earth-Based Spirituality Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro 235 Towards Ecological Sensitization and Ecological Justice – A Call for A Joint (Women’s) Inter-religious Peace-Building Nadja Furlan Štante 243 PRACTICAL CASE STUDIES Changes in Eco-Theological Attitudes in Germany Anja Vollendorf 255 Recent Eco-Theological Initiatives as Promoted by the Lutheran World Federation Chad Rimmer 259 Eco-Theology and Climate Justice in Rwanda Gloriose Umuziranenge 263 Recent Latin-American and Caribbean Ecumenical Initiatives – A Reading Guide Guillermo Kerber 271 Pastoral Action Program for the Care of Creation of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate Daniel Beros 275 Priorities for Ecumenical Eco-Ethics in the 21st Century. Thoughts and Lessons from SAFCEI, a Multi-Faith Eco-Justice Organization in Southern Africa Geoff and Kate Davies 281 Eco-Friendly Activities Implemented by Syunik-Development NGO, Armenia Hayarpi Aghankanyan 291 Eco-Theology as a Practical Dimension. A View from the Armenia Inter-Church Round Table Karen Nazaryan 295 Regional Approaches to Eco-theology in the Context of Ethiopia Misgana Mathewos Detago 299 Christian Conference of Asia’s Initiatives in Developing Eco-Consciousness and Eco-Theology George Matthews Chunakara 305 APPENDIX The Wuppertal Call in Different Languages 317 The uppertalW Call in German: Kairos für die Schöpfung – Hoffnungsbekenntnis für die Erde. Die Wuppertaler Erklärung 317 Table of Contents 7 The Wuppertal Call in French: Kairos pour la création – une confession de l’espérance pour la Terre. L’appel de Wuppertal 322 The uppertalW Call in Spanish: Kairós para la Creación – Confesión de esperanza para la tierra. La Declaración de Wuppertal 326 The uppertalW Call in Greek: ΚΑΙΡΟΣ για τη Δημιουργία – Ομολογώντας την Ελπίδα για τη Γη: Η έκκληση του Βούπερταλ 331 The uppertalW Call in Indonesian: Kairos for Creation – Confessing Hope for the Earth. The Wuppertal Call 335 The uppertalW Call in Chinese 339 The Barmen Declaration 343 “Lent to us is the Star, on which we Live“ Ruth Gütter 347 Faith for Earth: It is Time for a Behavioral Revolution Towards Earth Iyad Abumoghli 351 List of Contributers 357 8 Table of Contents KAIROS FOR CREATION – CONFESSING HOPE FOR THE EARTH THE WUPPERTAL CALL “If my people who are called by