Kick-off for the final year of the CCAP project
Hamburg, April 2025. From 4 to 6 April, participants in the CCAP project from the North Church came together for a seminar at the Christian Jensen Kolleg in Breklum. The weekend was held under the motto of dialogue. An attitude that is of great importance in this special project with its two pillars (climate justice and new forms of church partnerships).
Successful climate communication
When it comes to climate protection, it is important to strike the right note. In a workshop on climate communication, the participants therefore looked at the common resistance to climate protection measures in everyday life and tested arguments and responses against it. In addition, Dr Jan Menkhaus from the “Kirchlicher Dienst in der Arbeitswelt” (KDA) gave a presentation on the potential of land for climate protection. The immense potential of CO2 sequestration through the rewetting of moors has greatly enriched the participants’ view of the possibilities and fields of action within our church. ‘Rescue is possible’ was a key feedback after this exchange.
Searching for new forms of ecumenical partnerships
An attitude of dialogue is also important in the context of church partnerships. On the one hand, this involves an intercultural dialogue with Christians from other regions of the world. On the other hand, the search for new forms of church partnerships also requires openness in the negotiation process with different partnership approaches. An exchange was dedicated to this search movement by asking the question ‘Ecumenical partnerships in 2035…what do I see?’. In this discussion, it became clear that in ten years’ time, the relationships between the churches of the South and the Ev.-Luth. Church in Northern Germany will have changed. The partners from the South will be increasingly self-confident, which will test the openness and the decolonisation efforts within the Ev.-Luth. Church in Northern Germany.
Next steps
A reflection on faith and its connection to the CCAP project rounded off the seminar. During the next seminar in Breklum the German action teams will work on concrete agreements for the encounter trip in January 2026, building on the open and honest communication. The focus will also be on how to continue with the newly formed partnerships after the end of the funding period in March next year. Transferring and sharing experiences of the CCAP project will be central to this. The project will therefore be celebrating a CCAP day at the Missionsakademie Hamburg on 12 July, to which all interested parties are cordially invited.
Fotos: Ökumenewerk der Nordkirche