Plunge participants had the privilege of touring the World Council of Churches’ headquarters and learning about their work on May 30th and the afternoon of May 31st. I’ve already recapped what we learned about on the first morning, and Michelle did a great job of recapping Rev. Mtata’s Bible study/hermeneutics lesson. Now to continue!
Afternoon of May 30th:
We met Mr. Ralston Deffenbaugh, the LWF’s Assistant General Secretary for International Affairs and Human Rights. He first volunteered for the LWF in the 1970s, doing legal work in Namibia. He has worked for the LWF since 1981 and works extensively with the United Nations headquarters in Geneva with issues of human rights (especially freedom of religion) and refugees. In fact, the LWF is currently one of the five largest partners working with the UN High Commission for Refugees.
After giving a quick explanation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (fun fact: the Freedom of Religion article was drafted by a Lutheran!), he discussed the LWF’s history of advocacy for human rights. He described the LWF’s mission as “holistic” – a combination of diakonia and advocacy. Diakonia is a Greek word that refers to the Christian call to serve the poor and oppressed. In 2013, the LWF does most of its work in parts of Africa, Central America, and India. But when the LWF began to organize in 1945, one out of every six Lutherans in the world were refugees in post-WWII Europe. The organization’s first resolution called on the governments of countries in Europe to find homes for all refugees and defend freedom of religion for all faiths.
After hearing about the history of the LWF and the organization’s commitment to both advocacy and diakonia, we were introduced to the work of the LWF’s Department for World Service (DWS) by Mr. Robert Waddell (DWS Consultant for Resource Mobilization) and Mr. Duane Poppe (DWS Program Officer for Sustainable Development and the Environment). They described themselves as “the hand… as well as a bit of that peace bird too!” in the new LWF logo. In other words, they are responsible for the LWF’s DWS’s strategic direction.
A brochure from the DWS describes their mandate as “Bear witness in church and society to God’s healing, reconciliation and justice” and their mission as “Inspired by God’s love for humanity, World Service responds to and challenges the causes and consequences of human suffering and poverty.” In the field of development, all issues are intricately connected. But in order to be effective, organizations usually focus on just a few. Mr. Waddell and Mr. Poppe said that the DWS’s focus is on: disaster relief, emergency preparedness, and response; sustainable livelihoods; and community-led action for justice and peace. They work with numerous partner organizations, both international and grassroots, such as Lutheran World Relief (and its multiple national branches), Church World Service, and Action by Churches Together (the ACT Alliance).
– Hannah Shirtliff
The Plunge Experience 