19.09.2014
Importance of Listening to Minorities Stressed at Anglican–Lutheran Society Conference
Representatives of Churches from all over Europe and North America gathered in Hungary last weekend for a conference which stressed the importance of listening to minorities. The conference, entitled ‘Fear Not Little Flock: The Vocation of Minority Churches Today’, was held at the Lajos Ordass Retreat and Conference Centre, Révfülöp, Lake Balaton, Hungary.
It was organised by the Anglican–Lutheran Society and attended by people from 20 countries; UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Portugal, Estonia, Switzerland, Poland, Romania and Ireland.
The Church of Ireland was represented by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson. He addressed the conference on the role that can be played by minority groups in the ongoing process of reconciling divided communities.
The main message of the conference was that attention should be paid to those on the margins who had a lot to say but who were often not listened to. During the event people from some of the smallest Churches in Europe shared their experiences with those from majority Churches from Canada, the USA, the UK, Germany and Scandinavia.
Professor Tibor Fabiny from Budapest introduced Hungary and its Church communities. Then, in a series of joint presentations, Anglicans and Lutherans from Portugal, France, Italy, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK explained their approaches to serving divided communities, diaconal ministry, involving the laity, ecumenism and spirituality.
The papers presented at the conference will be available shortly on the Anglican–Lutheran Society website www.anglican-lutheran-society.org