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Among the many international guests at the Heavenly Days on the Heath, which unfolded during the Ascension holidays in Herning in Denmark, was Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches.
Fykse Tveit was invited to Herning by the Council on International Relations of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark and participated in various events. Among them was a discussion at the Global Goals Café at Herning Library addressing church commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a Bible reflection session in the City Church discussing the story of Jesus walking on water as well as a presentation about the future and potential of churches globally.
Tveit had the opportunity to talk to many different people from the Danish church, including representatives from the Council on International Relations.
Among the topics discussed were issues and topics such as the grave challenges persecuted Christians and other religious minorities have been facing - an issue about which Tveit is very concerned - as well as the discussion about how churches can counterbalance the growing polarization and hostile political rhetoric which is currently pervasive in communities all over the world.
In this context Tveit also addressed the agenda the World Council of Churches will be working on over the next couple of years in order to prepare for the 2021 general assembly in Karlsruhe (Germany) under the theme “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”
Furthermore, Tveit reiterated that 2021 will be the first time since 1968 in Uppsala, that the World Council of Churches will gather for a general assembly on European ground. For this very reason he invited Danish churches to contribute to the upcoming assembly to make the global church aware of church life on the European continent.
The theme ”Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity” refers to, among others, freedom of religion and belief, as well as the peace-and-reconciliation work which has always been characterizing the World Council of Churches. As Tveit said during his presentation at the Global Goals Café: ”Maybe you are not all aware of it, but the World Council of Churches is actually conveying peace negotiations on the Korean Peninsula”!
At Heavenly Days on the Heath, Tveit received very positive responses when presenting the theme “Christ’s love”. The theme puts Christ in focus, regarding the question: “What does it mean to be a Christian?”, therefore stressing the modern Christian identity as it is perceived and lived, for instance in interreligious dialogue work.
The Council on International Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark
