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Meeting with ad-hoc group in Consistory of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Augsburg Confession Participants:
However, before raising this matter it is important to lay down which churches that could be regarded to be affiliated with the network. A network should have an open and including character. On the basis of that, the bearing principle of Theobalt is to develop a network of the three main church traditions around the Baltic Sea. Thus, churches affiliated to the Theobalt network are to be found in two fields. There are those rooted in the national culture and obviously contributing to the national identity. There are, however, also churches of more or less a minority status. They are clearly within the indicated Christian traditions and some have already participated in the Theobalt activities. Considering this, the following churches seems to have an established link to the network: The Othodox churches in - Russia; Poland; Finland; Latvia and Estonia The Roman Catholic Churches in - Poland; Lithuania; Latvia; Germany and Sweden The Evangelical Lutheran Churches in - Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; Poland; Germany (Baltic region); Denmark and Sweden The idea with a contact person should be presented in a letter to the church leaders or other vital person together with necessary, basic information about the network. The letter is signed and sent from the diocese of Visby. 2. Exchange pattern on practical church level The idea is to introduce an exchange programme for church workers or church members. The purpose should be to learn from each others' traditions, share experiences and establish personal relations between individual Christians.By bringing greater mutual knowledge and an open minded attitude, this will in the long run contribute to peace work in the area. A group of 3 - 6 persons should be invited to visit another church. The length of the visit could be up to one week. The basic concept should be that each church tradition is represented in the group with one or two persons. An organized programme should include visits to parishes to get acquainted with the parochial work, meeting with church workers, worshipping, discus-sions and reflections on being a Christian in today's society. Also the Theobalt concept and its possibilities come out as a natural topic. This exchange programme should also open up for smaller groups of specific kinds (i e youth, professionals etc) to visit each other. The fundamental aspect also in this case is to meet across the borders of Christian traditions. Initially the programme should be administered by the diocese of Visby, which then could act as host and - also initially - care for the financing. The goal of the programme should be at least one invitation per year. A practical issue is to find out to whom this invitation should be sent. This will be facilitated with a system of contact persons. 3. Planning for Theobalt V - next conference in 2001 Place and date Visby, Sweden. 14th - 18th of July 2001 Participants Every church affiliated to the network will be invited to send four representatives. At least one should be a junior delegate. Theme In an open discussion some guiding thoughts were specifically noted: The integration of Europe through the extension of the European union affects the Baltic area in the coming years - member-countries as well as non members. Spiritual life and experience are important factors in building the future, extended Europe. The extension of Europe means a meeting and an integration of societies with centuries old confessional traditions By influencing in a spiritual way Theobalt could contribute positively to the integration of Europe. The confessional pattern of the Baltic area is a gift to the on going integrational work. The Christian faith is an unbounded fellowship carried by the different churches according to their own traditions. A new Theobalt conference should identify the role of the churches in an enlarged and more unified Europe On the basis of this the theme of the conference was formulated: Churches around the Baltic Sea - their contribution to the region. Schedule The conference should be divided into three parts - each with lectures and discussions on a specific subtheme. The following were suggested: Churches as uniting and dividing factors in past and present Christ - the answer of quest for spirituality Common Christian values and individual autonomy Every subtheme is introduced by three opening speakers (one from each church tradition - 10 - 15 min each) and a lecture (40 min) by a "reflecting" politician or a scholar. The introductions are followed by workshops which in turn are summed up in a common session. Practical aspects on language differences including interpretation must be observed at an early stage. The diocese of Visby runs the preparatory work. The group decided tentatively to meet again on the 18th - 19th of November 2000. 4. The Theobalt homepage When entering the website the purpose of Theobalt is presented. Four sub-titles are suggested: General information; Network churches; Arrangements and Electronic communication. Before introducing the website on the internet, information will be exchanged with churches involved. 5. 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