ELCA NEWS SERVICE
December 14, 2006
ELCA, WCC Organize International Conference on Cruelty
06-197-JB*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), in partnership with the Faith and Order Commission of the
World Council of Churches, organized a theological conference on
cruelty focusing on topics such as genocide in Rwanda and
Armenia, apartheid in South Africa, sex trafficking in the
Philippines, injustice and cruelty to children, and immigration
concerns.
The Dec. 5-8 conference took place in Puidoux, Switzerland.
As many as 27 people participated from North America, Africa,
Asia and Europe, said Dr. Michael Trice, associate director, ELCA
Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs. Trice's theological
study provided the theoretical framework for the consultation.
Other ELCA members who attended were the Rev. Ronald W. Duty,
associate director for studies, ELCA Church in Society, and the
Rev. Karen L. Bloomquist, director, Department for Theology and
Studies, Lutheran World Federation, Geneva.
"The cross calls us not to glorify but to attend to the
suffering in the world and to struggle for its elimination," the
conference participants said in a statement.
"In reflecting on such structural and institutional forms of
cruelty as patriarchy, racism, casteism and xenophobia,
participants noted that, as well as being inherently cruel in and
of themselves, such structures and institutions legitimize and
perpetrate cruelty against the vulnerable and the disempowered,"
a WCC news release said.
"For more than 2,000 years we have talked around cruelty. It
is an ugliness that implicates us and tears the fabric of our
societies," Trice said at the conference. "We have gathered here
to learn what churches can do to respond to intergenerational
cruelty that is created and perpetrated at institutional and
structural levels."
Trice explained that the ELCA churchwide organization became
a partner in planning the meeting because of its "strong task
force for the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence," an ecumenical
effort to promote nonviolence, peace and reconciliation
throughout the world. In addition, the ELCA's ecumenical
relationships were a key factor that led to its partnership in
the consultation, he said.
"Cruelty is one of those pieces that has generated a lot of
interest. It's one of those topics that we all recognized that
we've been talking around for the better part of our Christian
heritage," Trice said in an interview with the ELCA News Service.
Participants in the conference were "theoreticians," Trice
explained, and people "who were living in particular areas of the
world" who could speak to a variety of events and situations in
which people treated others with cruelty.
"When we began the meeting, all of the participants who were
there sitting around the table made it very clear that we have to
talk about cruelty in human life in ways that are tangible and
concrete," Trice said. The participants agreed they would miss an
opportunity if they didn't talk honestly about the subject and
that reconciliation will "pale" if they don't take human
experience seriously, he said.
"Of all the things that happened in this consultation, I
think the faithfulness and dedication to that task triumphed,"
Trice said.
As for next steps following the conference, Trice explained
that the participants will write a series of reports, based on
their discussions, which will be published and distributed by
late 2007. The resource is intended for churches to use in their
discussions. The reports also challenge the churches "to really
engage, discuss and come to a larger understanding of this
topic," Trice said. In addition, a Chicago-area higher education
institution is talking about organizing a similar conference on
cruelty and conflict in the world.
"If we as churches have made a contribution toward informing
a healthier public debate and public awareness about cruelty and
conflict in the world and the alternatives for reconciliation,
then that's a tremendous contribution," Trice added.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a Minneapolis-based
nonprofit financial services organization, provided a grant to
make it possible for many participants to attend, Trice said.
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Hear comments from Michael Trice on the ELCA Web site at:
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/061213A.mp3
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/061213B.mp3
A list of the presenters and their papers is available at
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/cruelty-presenterslist.html on
the Web.
The WCC Faith & Order study on "Nurturing peace, overcoming
violence: In the way of Christ for the sake of the world" is at
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/nurturingpeace.html on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
