Justice as an interreligious task

An event with tradition: on the eve of Reformation Day, an impressive interfaith meeting took place in the Ev.-luth Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe, one of the three supporting churches of the Ev.-luth Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM). This event, which was organised in cooperation with the district of Schaumburg, was dedicated to the topic of justice - a courageous undertaking in view of the many unresolved crises, conflicts and wars in the context of conflicting world views.

On this evening in the St Martini Church in Stadthagen, there was no sign of this, but rather of peaceful coexistence, mutual exchange and religious and culinary diversity. The many different culinary delicacies at the stalls of the participating groups were not least a sign of this. Accompanied by piano and youth choir music, an almost cheerful atmosphere was created, which also allowed for reflective tones.

Religious scholar Dr Hamideh Mohagheghi gave a sensitive and informative presentation on the central question: "What is justice? Can working for justice be an interreligious task?" Her presentation gave the participants food for thought and encouraged dialogue between the various religious groups.

Jan-Philipp Beck delivered the greeting from the district, while the welcoming speech referred to Psalm 85: "...that grace and truth may meet, justice and peace may kiss each other." These words emphasised the central message of the evening: the search for common understanding and peace.

The new bishop of the regional church of Schaumburg-Lippe, Oliver Schuegraf, also emphasised this in his welcoming address. He emphasised that grace, truth, peace and justice are mutually dependent. Honest and truthful mutual encounters also require a gracious approach characterised by compassion, acceptance and a willingness to forgive. And a peace that is unjust and from which only a few benefit is no peace.

With this in mind, the Ev.-luth. Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM) was also present in Stadthagen under the motto "The dream of one world" and took part in the exchange between the faith communities - not only with words, but also with biscuits and muffins, whose recipes reflected multicultural diversity in keeping with the spirit of the evening.

And so the wishes for peace from Islamic, Yazidi, Alevi, Baha'i, Jewish and Christian traditions expressed during the event echoed throughout the evening and accompanied people on their way home - even on the return journey of the small delegation from the ELM to distant Hermannsburg.