ECCB welcomed European representatives of the Lutheran World Federation

How are the churches faring in a world that does not reckon with the church? What does it mean to bear witness to the message of the Gospel in a rapidly changing and highly secularised European context? What role do the current conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa play in our experience? These are just some of the questions that the guests reflected on together. They also reflected on last year's LWF Assembly in Krakow.

The delegates gathered for the opening worship service in the Church of St Martin in the Wall, where the Synodal Senior of the ECCB, Pavel Pokorný, preached. The participants were welcomed by the Hungarian Bishop Tamás Fabiny, LWF Vice-President for Central and Eastern Europe.

On Wednesday, representatives of the ECCB presented their church and the current challenges of being a church in a secular context in the Czech Republic. How do you look at people outside the church and how does the church finance itself with decreasing state support were just some of the key questions discussed by Jonatan Hudec, minister of the congregation in Smíchov, Pavel Pokorný, Synodal Senior of the ECCB and Jiří Schneider, Synodal Curator of the ECCB. (You can read the presentation of Synodal Senior Pavel Pokorný here.) The afternoon offered the opportunity to relate what had been heard to the participants' own church situation in talks and discussions. Thursday was dedicated to current humanitarian emergencies. The participants heard testimonies in videos and live from people living in war zones or in situations of armed conflict in other parts of the world. Ukrainian professor Dmytro Tsolin spoke about the effects of Russian aggression in his country, while Fadi Atrash, head of the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem, reported on the conflict in the Middle East. Education coordinator Maureen Ogulu from Kenya spoke about the work of the LWF in South Sudan, where she is active. The impact of these conflicts on the societies of the participants' countries and how churches can respond to them in a more secular environment was the topic of subsequent talks and discussions.

The majority of the programme took place in the protestant church in Prague's Smíchov district. Following a recent modern renovation, it serves not only as a church building, but also as a community centre and a place for neighbourhood meetings.

Photos of the meeting on Flickr (external link)

Source: Press release of the organisers (adapted)