Seeking Conviviality Re-forming Community Diakonia in Europe Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................1 PREFACE ........................................................ 2 INTRODUCTION .................................................. 3 The European context ................................................... 3 Seeking conviviality ...................................................... 3 Re-forming Community Diakonia in Europe—the Process ............................................... 4 The Structure of the report ............................................ 4 PART ONE – THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT .................. 5 1. Four Contextual Challenges ....................................... 5 2. Four Challenges for the Church ................................. 9 PART TWO – THEMES FOR REFLECTION & ACTION .... 15 1. Vocation ................................................................. 15 2. Conviviality ..............................................................17 3. Justice ................................................................... 20 4. Dignity ................................................................... 22 PART THREE – RE-FORMING COMMUNITY DiaKONia ..27 1. Starting Local ..........................................................27 2. Supporting Actions ..................................................37 3. Next Steps in the Process ....................................... 39 4. Conclusions and Questions ......................................41 Edited by: Tony Addy, interdiac, on behalf of BibLIOGRapHY ................................................ 44 the Lutheran World Federation Cover photo: © ELKU/Szilárd Szabó AppENDIX 1 – THE PARTNERS & THE PROCESS .......... 45 The European Solidarity Group .................................... 45 Layout: LWB-Communications Office Relation to Lutheran World Federation Strategy ........... 45 The partnership with interdiac ..................................... 45 Published by: The Lutheran World Federation – A Communion of Churches Department for Mission and AppENDIX 2 – EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY Development GROUP MEMBERS .............................................47 Route de Ferney 150 P. O. Box 2100 AppENDIX 3 – FOLLOW UP CONTACTS .................... 48 CH–1211 Geneva 2 LWF European Solidarity Group .................................. 48 © The Lutheran World Federation Lutheran World Federation (LWF) ............................... 48 interdiac .................................................................... 48 ISBN 978-2-940459-29-2 [email protected] 2 The Lutheran World Federation Seeking Conviviality Acknowledgements The production of this report is just one part of the overall process Seeking Conviviality, Re-forming Community Diakonia in Europe. The participation of 28 people, most of whom are active in local diakonia, gives a rich picture of the context and ideas for diaconal practice grounded in experience. We acknowledge the contribution of all the members of this Solidarity Group to the process and thank them for it Two workshops were held dur- ing the process and we thank our Finnish colleagues on the staff of the Järvenpää campus of Diak and of Seurakuntaopisto and the Church © LWF/Juho Kuva Advanced Training Centre for their hosting of the group in December 2011. The second meeting in January The whole process was organised tribution to the report and the whole 2013 was hosted by Bishop Uhland in collaboration with the International development process. In producing Spahlinger and his staff at the centre Academy for Diaconia and Social the report, one of the Solidarity group of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Action, Central and Eastern Europe members, Szilárd Szabó, acted as Ukraine, in Odessa, along with other (interdiac) and we acknowledge the photo editor, and we thank him for his local colleagues. We thank them also contribution of the leading staff of the enthusiastic contribution. for their generous hospitality and for Academy to the whole process. Es- In terms of contributions to devel- the local arrangements in the Ukraine. pecially we would like to thank Janka oping the process, we acknowledge In May 2012, some members of Adameová, the director, for inspiring the work of the LWF staff in the the Solidarity Group led the Diakonia the participatory approach which we Communications office for creating Day at the LWF European Church have used throughout. the webpage and designing the pub- Leadership Consultation held in Ostra- This report was compiled and lication and also other LWF staff for va, Czech Republic. We acknowledge written by Tony Addy, the head of vital support. And we acknowledge the feedback and contribution of the education at interdiac, with the active the effective teamwork of the leading members of this meeting to the reflec- contribution of the Solidarity Group group, Eva Sibylle Vogel-Mfato from tions of the group and look forward to members with text, stories and photo- LWF and Janka Adameová and Tony further collaboration. graphs and we acknowledge his con- Addy from interdiac. Department for Mission and Development 1 Preface Since 2011, the Lutheran World Federa- tion (LWF) member churches in Europe have engaged in a process of critical reflection about community diakonia and advocacy in Europe. A resource group of diaconal practitioners from all three European LWF regions has worked together under the theme of “Seeking Conviviality—Re-forming Community Diakonia in Europe”. The process is being coordinated by the LWF/Department for Mission and Development-Europe Desk,. The outcomes and insights from this process so far have been captured in this report. Seeking conviviality is a © LWF/H. Putsman Penet practical guide that shares the experi- ences and practices of diakonia from the diverse European contexts and the increasing experience of change and people to take ownership of their own particularly focuses on the building of diversity within societies across Europe, community’s transformation and to inclusive communities at various levels. the report envisions European commu- live and write new life stories as active This report aims to raise the aware- nity diakonia as space for building trust members of community. ness of churches in different contexts of and living together in inclusive neighbor- This report re-affirms the church’s the issues involved in community diako- hoods; striving for solidarity and justice. diaconal call: from God and from the nia and advocacy and enables them to It also affirms the specificity of neighbor. It invites churches to rethink be better equipped. It represents an im- each member church which informs their diaconal methods in ways that ad- portant resource for enhancing learning how they understand and express Lu- dress structural inequality and injustice. among different areas of diaconal work theran identity in their diaconal calling. It encourages us to work towards long- in Europe, including the understanding It highlights participatory approaches term transformation while recognizing and practice of diaconal church and as an effective way to engage in dia- the importance of responding to the developing strategies towards meaning- conal and advocacy action. The report most immediate daily needs of people ful changes in the lives of vulnerable encourages a deeper understanding of and neighborhoods. Diakonia must be individuals and communities. the contextual social challenges faced rooted in the local levels where social, Seeking Conviviality shares practical in Europe and promotes mutual learn- political, and religious issues are most strategies as well as identifies tools that ing and commitment to one another. felt and better understood. support a holistic approach to diakonia. Seeking Conviviality calls for the In the spirit of the journey towards Drawing on European experiences, it radical reorientation of diakonia. It the celebration of the 500th anni- emphasizes “conviviality” as its key con- gives voice to people forced to live in versary of the Lutheran Reformation ceptual framework. It implies the founda- the margins of society. They become and even beyond, this report is com- tion of communities based on reciprocal leading stakeholders and actors in the mended with the hope that it inspires relationships, mutual respect for their dif- process of analyzing their situations and its readers to apply the methodologies ferences, and strength among people and identifying viable solutions. It challenges identified in their individual contexts. communities that enriches living together. the “giver and receiver approach”, both The report presents a variety of con- in terms of serving those in need and Rev. Dr. Musa Panti Filibus textual realities and good practice that sharing resources among the churches. Director, contribute to the LWF approach of mutual Therefore, the vision for diakonia is de- LWF Department for Mission and engagement in holistic mission. In view of veloped in context and aims to empower Development 2 The Lutheran World Federation Seeking Conviviality Introduction The European context Within the past 20 years, first the coun- tries of Central and Eastern Europe, and increasingly, other parts of Europe, have Vocation been confronted with drastic political and economic changes, which have af- fected millions of families in their sustain- ability. The collapse of the former cen- trally planned economies twenty years ago has cast a long shadow and the consequences are still being worked on. Seeking In particular the development