Title: ELCA Wittenberg Center Opens in Germany
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 30, 1999

ELCA WITTENBERG CENTER OPENS IN GERMANY
99-167-LS*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The new Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) Wittenberg Center opened its doors this spring in Wittenberg,
Germany.  As a three-year pilot project, the center offers a place for
study, tour and dialogue for congregational members, seminarians and
college students.  Wittenberg was home to 16th century German church
reformer Martin Luther and his wife Katharina.
     Under the direction of the ELCA Division for Global Mission, the
center was formed by a steering committee including representatives of
several ELCA units at the invitation of several agencies and churches in
Germany.  The Rev. Dean W. Bard, former pastor of the American Church in
Berlin, was installed in May as the center's director.
     Bard said he sees two missions for the center. It is significant
to have a center at Wittenberg for historical reasons as well as a
meeting place in a rapidly changing world, he said.
     "This is the cradle of the Reformation," Bard said. "It's also
where East meets West, an important place for globalization."
     The Rev. H. Karl Reko, area program director for Europe, ELCA
Division for Global Mission, said the center is a place to "help
American Lutherans interact with the German churches and have an
 in-depth experience of Martin and Katharina Luther."
     Researchers can study at the center and throughout Wittenberg.
Rich in history, the city is home to a local research center called the
Leucorea (where Luther taught), the Luther Museum within the Lutherhalle
(where Martin and Katharina Luther lived) and several local churches
that can serve as resources, Reko said.
     Reko said the developers of the center envisioned an international
community.  He hopes churches of the Southern Hemisphere, especially
South America, Asia and Africa, will send their students and teachers to
the Wittenberg Center, Reko said.
     Other goals of the center include strengthening ties between the
ELCA and the German church and creating a center that is self-supporting
in three years, Reko said.
     In November, Bard will welcome American Lutherans and full
communion partners to the center for the first travel seminar.
Coordinated by Bard and the Rev. Timothy F. Lull, Luther scholar and
president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.,
the seminar will include lectures, discussions and visits to Luther
sites.
     Reko said he sees the center as an extension of the mission of the
church.  He cites the Gospel that "frees us to do mission in ways that
are relevant to the contemporary environment.  It's an example of the
various embodiments of the church making contributions to one another,"
Reko said.

[*Lisa Smith is a senior at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa.  This summer, 
she is an intern with ELCA News and Information.]

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