1 - 2001

Overcoming Violence

Editorial

A shell casing has become a symbol for the ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence. At the worship service launching the Decade on 4 February in Berlin, worshippers each received a shell casing which had been made into a cross. This transformation of leftovers of war into signs of hope and peace was the idea of George Togba, who used to belong to a rebel movement in Liberia. After enduring the horrors of the war, he and 30 other former fighters are now making these metal crosses, which in their country and in the worldwide ecumenical movement have become signs of hope for peace, even in the face of violence and destruction.

Signs and concrete actions like this are what the Decade to Overcome Violence needs in order to come to life. The worship service was held in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Gedächtniskirche) in Berlin, a further sign, for next to the modern church building of today the ruins of the old church which was destroyed in World War II have been left standing, as a warning against future violence and destruction. The congregation of the church today has close ecumenical ties with that of Coventry Cathedral in England, and every Friday the same prayer for reconciliation is offered in both churches. Thus former enemies in war have become brothers and sisters in the commitment to peace and reconciliation.

The launching of the Decade took place during a meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. Representatives of churches around the world took part in the worship service and in the launching ceremony following it, in Berlin. Through reports, speeches and prayers they brought out clearly the many forms in which they experience violence, such as the violence against women and children which is becoming an ever greater problem everywhere in the world. In his statement on the launching of the Decade, the moderator of the Evangelical Church in Germanys Council, President Manfred Kock, made a commitment to promote a culture of non-violence in family living rooms, in schools, in city and country, and in international politics.

The churches in Germany have already begun taking initiatives to implement the goals of the Decade in their own contexts. The members of the WCC Central Committee were informed about the problems which are spurring German churches into action, such as xenophobia, violence against Jewish institutions and citizens, and everyday violence in schools and homes. Local congregations and Christian action groups are discussing these problems openly, searching for their causes, and taking part in actions against violence. It is also clear that the German churches feel a responsibility for helping to stop the export of weapons to war zones and to overcome the economic need which leads to the use of force in many countries of the world. "Anyone who has nothing to lose is ready to use violence!" Pastor Andrè Karamaga from Rwanda said in Berlin.

That the Decade to Overcome Violence was launched in Germany will be an impetus to the churches of this country to work actively to help make the world more peaceful during the next ten years. This "great project of world-wide Christendom", as Bishop Wolfgang Huber of Berlin called it, needs the commitment of every congregation and every individual Christian.