Learning from South Africa: Intercultural dialogue for strong voluntary preaching
Three preachers from the regional church in Hanover and people involved in their training are currently preparing for their trip to South Africa with the help of the ELM.
The exchange with Lutheran partner churches is intended to sustainably strengthen the preaching ministry of the Hanover Regional Church - especially in times of increasingly scarce resources. Predicants from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover and their trainers are preparing for their trip to South Africa in April with great anticipation. At the preparatory seminar held by the Ev.-luth. Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM) in Hermannsburg on 7 and 8 February, South Africa's history and social developments were discussed as well as the situation of the Lutheran churches and issues of intercultural communication. The weekend was organised and led by Bradn Buerkle, ELM consultant for theological training in international church partnerships, and Dr Joe Lüdemann, ELM consultant for ecumenical cooperation in South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini, who will also accompany the trip. The aim of the weekend and the trip is to carefully prepare encounters and promote long-term cooperation and exchange.
The intercultural exchange should help to further raise the profile of training, spiritual guidance and the practice of voluntary preaching, as the Lutheran churches in South Africa have a great deal of expertise in this area. In South Africa, lay people have always led entire liturgies and are responsiblefor the worship service. From the very beginning, there have only been pastors there who are responsible for more than one congregation. A situation that could also arise in Germany in the next 20 years.
The regional church of Hanover is planning an exchange with the following South Africanpartner churches of the ELM: ELCSA - Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, ELCSA (Cape) - Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church) and the NELCSA - North Eastern Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa.
Trainers and preachers learn together
Pastor Dr Vera Christina Pabst and Pastor Nadia El Karsheh are taking part in the predicant training programme. Vera Christina Pabst is the regional church commissioner for the lector and preacher ministry and has been ecumenically, academically and personally involved with South Africa for around 30 years. Nadia El Karsheh is responsible for promoting participation in the regional church. She hopes for a "really nice cross-cultural give and take" and new perspectives for a diverse church and the preachers of the regional church of Hanover.
How do the preachers feel?
Daniel Aldag, predicant and member of the regional synod, speaks of "tense excitement and anticipation". He is particularly interested in "how the church works there [editor's note: South Africa]" and how voluntary preaching is organised in South African congregations. Dr Johanna Gronau ("very, very open" and "super curious") and Barbara Paschke ("a real broadening of horizons") also expect valuable input.
Volunteering as a pillar of church life
In times of increasingly scarce financial and personnel resources, it is clear that voluntary preaching is not a stopgap solution, but can become a mainstay of church life. In order for it to remain of high quality and sustainable, it needs targeted support - and international learning spaces that broaden one's own horizons. The trip to South Africa is therefore not a one-off event, but part of a long-term process of mutual learning. Reports from the meeting on site will follow.
