Helena, can you start by sharing something about your own family background?
I grew up in the German countryside with my mother, father and two brothers. Both of my parents work in the field of diakonia and although we did not go to church every Sunday, Christian values did shape my life. For example, it felt natural for me to join the church youth group, to do a leadership training there and to be engaged in helping with Sunday School for the younger children.
You had a fairly traditional Lutheran upbringing, so where does your passion for ecumenism stem from?
It was during my confirmation class that my pastor told me about the Taizé Community in France which really sparked my interest, so I went there with a few friends for several years in a row. I found it a very enriching experience, exchanging ideas in such an international community, doing Bible study together, giving and receiving, all this had a strong impact on the way I thought about my faith.
Another important turning point in my life was when the deacon who led the youth work in my region started a church partnership with Tanzania and asked me if I wanted to join. Doing an exchange there was also really enriching for me, so after high school, I decided to spend a year in Tanzania to do voluntary service, living in a Lutheran community. That had a very strong impact on my personal beliefs and gave me the chance to learn a lot from the local community.
Tell us more about that exchange and the way it has influenced your life?
Yes, indeed it has. I worked with a diaconal sister empowering children who had lost their parents to stay in their communities by supporting small-income projects or providing health insurance so that the neighbors or grandparents could take care of the orphans. What I loved about the work was that it was run totally by Tanzanians, while we were able to learn how they did things and do some reporting back to Germany.
I stayed with a local host family in a very small village close to Moshi in the Kilimanjaro area where they grow coffee and bananas. A young woman with whom I became friends invited me to join their church choir and this became a very important part of my time there. They taught me how to play the trumpet and I went to church almost every day as part of the community choir. I realized the church was the place to meet people in the village and I enjoyed becoming part of the local community.
When I returned to Germany, I started studying economics and international relations and, just by chance, I found out that the university was teaching Swahili, including a Swahili choir so I joined that. In a short time, I became one of the choir leaders which really deepened my knowledge of Swahili and led me to switching to African and Development studies – still focusing on economic issues, but reflecting the experiences I had brought back from Tanzania.
It was around this time that you first came into contact with the LWF, wasn’t it?
Yes, through the same youth deacon who had brought me to Tanzania in the first place: she called me one day and said: “I have no idea what the LWF is, but they are looking for a youth delegate for the next Assembly in Namibia – can I put your name forward?”
So, I started learning more about the LWF together with other German youth delegates, preparing and reflecting on the topics that would be discussed at the Assembly. As I started to understand more about my own Lutheran identity, this led me, in the end, to studying theology after finishing my bachelor’s degree in African studies.
What do you remember most about that Namibia Assembly in 2017?
I found it an amazing experience being together with people from all over the world, bishops and young people, especially during the Village Groups where we were all from different countries, different ages, genders and religious backgrounds but I felt everyone was treated the same. It was a unique experience to talk to the bishops and feel that my opinion counted, that people were interested in what I had to say.
This experience also strengthened me to stand up in my own community, back in Germany, within different church structures, to know that if people at the Assembly wanted to listen to me, then I have a contribution to make here too and should make use of my voice.
Do you feel that the voices of young people continue to be heard within the LWF?
That’s a very good question: for me personally, I feel that my journey from the Assembly has continued and that my voice does count. I spoke at one point in Namibia about sustainable development and climate justice which were issues close to my heart and, as a result, I was asked if I wanted to join the LWF delegates at the COP climate conferences in Bonn, Germany, and Katowice, Poland.
When I finished my studies, I started working in our church development service and after a short time my boss retired, so I was encouraged to apply for his position. That’s how I became the officer for ecumenical relations when I was just over 30 years old, and I found it a hopeful sign for a church that welcomes younger people, showing itself to be open to changes and new ideas.
However, looking at the wider church, I still suffer to see that there are so few young people and so many structures that hinder them from having their voices heard. I feel that the experience I had with the LWF has not yet shifted to the local communities and churches, so there is still a long way to go to include young people and make sure the hierarchy can hear their voices clearly.
Do you have any suggestions that can help to broaden this youth participation?
When I was a youth delegate, I argued very much in favor of the youth quota as I felt that without that 20 percent quota, I probably would not have been introduced to the LWF and been able to find my voice. My dream is that one day, we won’t need these quotas for youth or women any more, but for now, I do see them as a key to getting young people into specific structures and synods.
You mentioned being part of the LWF delegation to the UN climate conferences in Germany and Poland – what did you take away from those experiences?
I learned a lot about advocacy and I learned a lot about being part of the ecumenical movement. I loved the way that we were not there only as Lutherans, but together with other Christians, as part of the ACT Alliance and often as partners with people of other faiths too. It was wonderful for me to see how all religions play a part in caring for creation, caring for the environment and this is something that really unites us. If we focus on working together, then we can have a stronger voice, and it is also an important tool for peacebuilding.
Back in Leipzig, where I was studying at that time, I started a movement called Churches for Future, building on the “Fridays for Future” movement. At the Krakow Assembly, I was part of the core team that organized the climate march, and that was also thanks to the lessons I learned at COP about creating powerful pictures and strategizing with the media to communicate a message.
Tell us about the work that you do today?
I am the officer for Ecumenical Relations in my church, which means connecting with other Christian churches in our region. A second part of the job is connecting with all our worldwide partners, especially in Eastern Europe, but also in Tanzania, India, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States and others, encouraging partnerships and developing ideas at parish level. Thirdly, I work on advocating for ecumenism with congregations and within my own church. Our church also has an office working on justice, peace and integrity of creation, and I work closely with my colleagues to promote these topics too.
Do you see much interest in ecumenism at local level in your country?
I think there has been a generational shift and many young people do like to spend a year abroad after high school, so this is where we can connect with them and talk about the partnerships we have in the church. But often these partnerships are run by older people who’ve been engaged in the work for years, so it’s more a question of bringing them together to see how their new ways of communicating, like social media for example, can bring added perspectives. I think there is a huge potential if we make use of such intergenerational cooperation and remain open to new ways of forging international partnerships.
Overall, are there concerns about the growing secularism and lack of young people coming into the church?
Living and working here in the eastern part of Germany, secularism is a huge topic as church membership has historically been lower here and a lot of people do lose their connection to the church. There are fears about declining financial resources, human resources, about shrinking churches.
But I have the feeling that we should be focusing more on ecumenism and a worldwide perspective, rather than just worrying about smaller numbers. I see my job as telling people to look abroad, look to your neighbors from other traditions, because we can never just be Lutherans by ourselves, but we must always be connected to the global community.
There are other churches who are so much smaller than we are, with much less money than we have – what can we learn from them? How do they handle the challenges and how can we journey together? I see my task as widening horizons and encouraging people to see themselves as part of the broader church and society.
