Delegates to the fourth Global Christian Forum gathering in Accra went on pilgrimage to the Cape Coast slave castle and shared stories of their faith journey, as they “discovered the gospel in dialogue with one another.”
Lutheran participants at the Global Christian Forum gathering in Accra, Ghana. Photo: A. Hillert
Three Lutherans reflect on their participation in an ecumenical forum which brings vital new voices to the table
(LWI) - “Building bridges through the sharing of our faith stories.” That is how Rev. Danielle Dokman, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname describes her experience attending the fourth gathering of the Global Christian Forum (GCF) in Accra, Ghana. She was part of a 15-member strong Lutheran World Federation (LWF) delegation attending the meeting, focused on the theme ‘That the World May Know’.
Dokman, currently completing her doctoral studies at Luther Seminary in Minnesota (USA), was attending the global ecumenical forum for the first time and found it to be an “impactful” meeting. “This was a different kind of encounter,” she explains, “and I found myself sitting at the table with more ecumenical partners than before, some that I didn’t even know about, like the independent and migrant churches.”
Rather than focusing on doctrinal issues, she continues, the 15 to 19 April meeting brought together 250 participants from a wide variety of Christian churches and communities, "seeking to make connections through our shared identity in Christ.” In particular, she notes, “it will be helpful for me as we work to bring Pentecostals and Charismatic Christians to the table with mainline churches in Suriname,” a country characterized by a wide range of religious beliefs and practices.
The question of whose voices are represented around the table is a vital one.
Rev. Dr Johannes Zeiler, Church of Sweden theologian and ecumenist
“The question of whose voices are represented around the table is a vital one and one that I bring back home with me,” says Rev. Dr Johannes Zeiler from the Church of Sweden, another member of the official Lutheran delegation in Ghana. “It was the first time for me at the Global Christian Forum, but I think it very much reflects the methodology we used during the work of the International Lutheran-Pentecostal Dialogue Commision, of which I am a member,” he says.
Zeiler notes that as the Forum marks the 25th anniversary of its foundation, “it has proved that it is working very well, not in contrast to other networks, but really releasing a new dimension of what it means to bring more partners to the table. That means not only including Evangelicals and Pentecostals, but also bringing us Lutherans and other traditional churches into different types of conversations.”
As a canon chancellor at Linköping Cathedral in southern Sweden, Zeiler compares the round table conversations he experienced in Ghana with his work teaching young adults in his local congregation. “I reflected that the tools we use for our adult catechumenate are central to the work of the GCF: starting with our own lives, our own stories, listening respectfully in an atmosphere of learning and mutual support.”
Ghanaian cross, especially created for the Accra event, decorated with the colors and theme of the Global Christian Forum. Photo: A. Hillert
Prof. Dr Dirk Lange, LWF’s Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, headed the Lutheran delegation which included representatives from all regions, as well as a young delegate, Francisco Gómez from Chile, who attended a first youth forum ahead of the main event. Lange notes that music and daily worship, “in all its great global diversity,” provided an important backdrop, alongside a special Ghanaian cross and colorful decorations adorning the multidenominational Accra Ridge Church.
“This global gathering created a space of intersection and awareness building helping all of us recognize that no one group can really stand in isolation,” Lange says. “An awareness of the plethora of Christian expression, all centered on the Triune God, leads to humbleness. Ecumenism is fostered by an attitude of listening and a growing dependence on the Holy Spirit to hold us and to help us persevere in the work ‘that all may be one’.”
Prof. Dirk Lange with the Secretary of the Global Christian Forum, Rev. Dr Casely Essamuah. Photo: A. Hillert
A pivotal moment of the meeting was a pilgrimage to the nearby Cape Coast slave castle, built as a trading post by European colonizers. Visiting the underground dungeons, participants learnt about the appalling conditions in which hundreds of thousands of men and women were kept before being shipped across the Atlantic, many dying before or during those perilous journeys.
“That was quite an emotional visit for me, as we walked with one another through the door of no return,” Rev. Dokman says. “I knew what had happened because we learned about this in school, but what caught me off guard was seeing the blackened floor where my ancestors were kept, sitting in their own blood and feces – I could not imagine even animals being treated like that.”
Rev. Danielle Dokman lays a tribute at Cape Coast slave castle to the many men and women who died during captivity or aboard boats crossing the Atlantic. Photo: A. Hillert
“I don’t know how people survived in such conditions,” she continues. “But at the same time, a nation was born and I am a part of that. So, while I mourn, I am also evidence of their resilience and I value being here, because I know the price that was paid for me to exist.” A service of lament, immediately following the visit, helped participants to process and reflect on the horrors of the past and the present day, she recalls.
“I was also very moved by that visit,” Rev. Zeiler says, “as we reflected on the brutality of the past, but also on the new dimensions of slavery and what it means to be marginalized or living in unjust and oppressive relationships. As people laid banners and flowers in memory of their ancestors, this was also a prayer for peace and an end to current forms of dehumanization and aggression.”
“The gospel is something we discover in dialogue with one another, it always comes out of the local context,” Zeiler reflects. “We left Ghana with hope and encouragement of trying to apply these entry points for our ecumenical work, locally and regionally. It became very clear that this journey has to continue, that we must pursue relationships between our different networks, and for younger people especially, I think this meeting in Ghana has been a life-changing experience.”
The Global Christian Forum is a unique gathering of churches and organizations that brings together all the major streams of world Christianity. Through regional consultations and global gatherings, it seeks to offer new opportunities for broadening and deepening relationships among all Christian constituencies, with the goal of fostering mutual respect and addressing common concerns.
