1. DIAKONIA AND THE REFORMATION
Kjell Nordstokke

2. Reformation 500 years

3. From Conflict to Communion
Lund - 21 October 2016

4. The LWF’s World Service and Caritas Internationalis signed a Declaration of Intent mutually committing the global Christian organizations to deepened relationships and closer cooperation in humanitarian response and sustainable development.

5. The Commemoration of the Reformation
An ecumenical event
A global event
A forward-looking event – ecclesia semper reformanda est
A diaconal event

6. Reformation 500 years
Salvation
– not for sale
Human beings
Creation

7. Study booklets

8. Human dignity –
A fundamental theological and diaconal issue

9. 1. Human dignity – as a theological concept 2
1. Human dignity – as a theological concept 2. Contemporary challenges 3. Human dignity and diakonia

10. I. Human dignity – as a theological concept
Human beings - created in the image of God
Valued for what they are and not because of their social, economic or religious status.

11. The 95 theses – affirming human dignity
The selling of indulgences reduces the believer to a mere consumer of religious “goods”
A turning away from the Christian vocation and a negation of the gifts and talents God freely had bestowed upon us

12. Reformation: Human dignity – a gift and a vocation
By the grace of God every human being is given an inherent value
Human dignity expresses itself in abilities and talents
Luther: every person is entitled by the Creator to be a subject with a noble vocation to serve God and the neighbor

13. Thesis 1
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Matthews 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance

14. Thesis 42
Christians are to be taught that the Pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy

15. A Treatise on Christian Liberty
November 1520: A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all

16. Dignity in two relations
In relation to God - a relation of life and freedom in Christ
In relation to the neighbor - a vocation to serve the other and promote common good
Human life is indeed not for sale. It is for life and for the promotion of common good

17. Ecclesia semper reformanda est
To convey the message of God’s liberating grace in a way that affirms human dignity and encourages the believers to use their talents serving one’s neighbor and promoting the common good

18. II. Contemporary challenges
Work and (un)employment in the context of neoliberal market system
Debt
Forced labor and human trafficking
Refugees and migration
Corruption and non-inclusion
Resource: Conviviality and Theology: Workshop of the European Diaconal Process

19. Rising inequality
Threatens to deprive large portions of the world’s population of a dignified life
The rest of us run the risk of becoming dehumanized if we passively allow this to happen

20. Oxfam Report

21. Oxfam report
7 out of 10 people live in a country that has seen growing inequality in the last 30 years
Between 1988 and 2011 the income of the poorest 10% increased by USD 65/per person; the income of the richest 1% grew by USD 11,800 per person—182 times as much
Women, often employed in low pay sectors, face high levels of discrimination in the work place

22. Global income growth that accrued to each decile 1988 - 2011
46% of the total increase went to the top 10%

23. The Church in the Public Space
Equal access to common goods and political decision-making processes
Safety, especially for the vulnerable
Meaningful participation of and interaction among all groups in society

24. Churches for the Economy of Life
Economy is too important to be left only to economists
Constructing just, caring and sustainable global financial and economic structures
The Economy of Life which “sets clear limits to greed and instead promotes common good”
Testifying to alternative lifestyles, the gifts of conviviality and of seeing people flourishing in meaningful relationships

25. III. Human dignity and diakonia
Defending and promoting human dignity belongs to the church’s diaconal mandate
Inspired by the example of the Old Testament prophets and the example of Jesus, who defended the dignity of the excluded, healed the sick and restored broken relations

26. The diaconal mandate: 1. The diaconate of all believers
In baptism all Christians are called and empowered to participate in God’s mission, to be God’s coworkers in promoting justice, peace and joy
Baptism announces that human beings are not for sale
The gifts of baptism equip and empower us to serve God and the neighbor

27. The diaconal mandate: 2. Organized diaconal action
Action and activities that aim at affirming the dignity of all, creating spaces that allow people to be the subjects in their own lives, and empowering people for active citizenship
Spaces for welcoming the poor and helpless

28. Inclusiveness as nota ecclesiae
Being inclusive and welcoming belongs to the intrinsic nature of the Christian congregation.
It implies to be attentive to voices of the margins and to find ways of organizing church life in a way that is inclusive and affirms the dignity of all.
The Holy Communion as space of welcoming, of inclusion, and of empowering for service.

29. The diaconal mandate: 3. Public advocacy
Advocacy is an integral part of all diaconal work
In addition, it is a distinct task, addressing duty-holders in the first place and reminding them of their responsibilities

30. Advocacy as public witness
The UN Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). How can we as churches contribute to the implementation of this agenda, and its aim of leaving no one behind?
How can we respond to the question of growing inequality?

31. Thanks to God, it makes sense to proclaim that human beings are not for sale!