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Under the theme “Hope in God—The Future of the World,” the event marked the 100th birthday of renowned German theologian Prof. Dr Jürgen Moltmann.
Bedford-Strohm’s lecture, entitled “My Heart Is Set on Ecumenism—Jürgen Moltmann’s Impact on Global Ecumenism,” recounted the intensity of Moltmann’s involvement with the World Council of Churches.
“When I saw him for the last time—two weeks before his death—he struggled to speak,” shared Bedford-Strohm. “Right into his advanced years, Jürgen Moltmann traveled extensively on behalf of the ecumenical movement.”
For decades, he was actively involved in the commissions of the WCC—most notably the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, of which he was a member for 20 years, from 1963 to 1983.
“He also made frequent visits to the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, the headquarters of the World Council of Churches,” said Bedford-Strohm. “The ecumenical movement—he stated—is as much about renewal as it is about unity.”
Moltmann also warned against the churches becoming self-absorbed in their institutional forms. “We must open ourselves to the surprises that the future brings us,” said Bedford-Strohm.
Bedford-Strohm also offered a sermon on 12 April in Bad Boll commemorating Moltmann.
“I have not kept count of his travels across the wide world,” said Bedford-Strohm. “Throughout our conference here in Bad Boll, references to them have surfaced everywhere.”
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Moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm shared a lecture and a sermon during a symposium on 10-12 April at the Evangelical Academy Bad Boll, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Photo: WCC
Over the decades, studying Jürgen Moltmann’s travel itinerary could at times make one’s head spin, noted Bedford-Strohm.
“And this remained true even into his advanced years,” said Bedford-Strohm. “Time and again, I would think: ‘Surely, that was his last journey’—only to marvel, a short while later, when he enthusiastically recounted details of a recent trip to Korea.”
Once, when Bedford-Strohm asked Moltmann about his travels after Moltmann had passed the age of 90, Moltmann replied: "I feel my best in the high-altitude air.”
This "wide space" characterizes not only the geographical places through which Moltmann moved, but also—and above all—his way of feeling and thinking, noted Bedford-Strohm. “Intellectual narrowness would surely be the very last attribute one would ascribe to him or his theology.”
Time and again, Moltmann transcended the boundaries of established—and at times, indeed, restrictive—theological traditions, reflected Bedford-Strohm
“This was the case with his theology of creation,” said Bedford-Strohm. “This was also the case regarding feminist theology.”
This was likewise true regarding the centuries-old rifts between Eastern and Western theology, continued Bedford-Strohm. “His affinity for Orthodoxy serves as an excellent illustration that this ‘wide space’ did not extend in merely one direction—the direction often readily labeled as ‘liberal-progressive'—but also in the opposing direction: the one to which the label ‘conservative’ is typically affixed,” said Bedford-Strohm. “The ‘wide space’ that Moltmann opened up recognizes no political color-coding, no theological signposts, and no labels of devotional style.”
It is nothing other than the space of God, said Bedford-Strohm.
“The abysses of suffering—the experience of which, amidst the events of war, proved so formative for Moltmann, and which weigh so heavily upon us today that at times we can scarcely bear them—lead us directly into the very essence of God,” said Bedford-Strohm.
