Report on WCC Central Committee 2008

Terttu Pohjolainen, Lahti, Finland
DRAE, Member of the Executive Committee

March 2008

Personal greetings

I remember so well our African sisters, how they wanted to see snow in Germany. Best greetings now for all of you Sisters and Brothers in DIAKONIA from the white Finland. We have so white and clean snow all over the fields and forests. When the sun is shining, the snow is more white and more bright. I remember many times outside in this kind of nature the beautiful words of God:

”Wash You, make You clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil. Learn to do well: seek judgment; relive the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1: 16-18.)

Report on the WCC Central Committee meeting

Jesus Christ cleans our evil doings away and wants us to do well. He wants us to work diaconal. Just one month ago I came back from the Central Committee Meeting of the World Council of Churches in Geneva Switzerland, which was hold from 13th to 20th February 2008. I was there as the representative of the DIAKONIA World Federation. I can also now hear in my mind the last song, which we were singing together in the church of Ecumenical Centre. The song is so diaconal!

”I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people´s pain, I have wept for love of them; they turn away. I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone. I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send? Here I am Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.” (Daniel Schutte, USA)

In the Central Committee Meeting of WCC were about 200 representatives of the Churches from all over the world one week together. It is possible to meet there very important and interesting people and listen interesting stories. I heard stories from the pastor sons of Theodor Fliedner, who had lived and established very good schools in Spain near by Madrid. I had possibility to meet Bishop Mdegella from Tansania, where we have the next Assembly of DRAE in 2011. - I thought, that I am the only deacon in the Central Committee. In this meeting I met Mr John Taroanui Doom Maóhi. He is a deacon in Protestant Church, French Polynesia. He said, that we have to tell stories for people. People want to help others, when they know stories! It was wonderful to meet him.

We had in Geneva the 60th Anniversary Celebration World Council of Churches. There was the Thanksgiving Service in the Cathedral Saint-Pierre. Every day we had the common morning prayer in Remembrance of the Assemblies of the World Council of Churches. Moderator Dr Walter Altman spoke in Moderator´s Address to all of us: ”There is no need to change the basic commitment of the WCC fellowship after its 60 years. We need to seek koinonia in faith and life, witness and service through the prayerful search for forgiveness and reconciliation, common witness in each place and in all places, commitment to diakonia in serving human need, renewal and growth in unity, worship, mission and service.” I think that in our work in DIAKONIA Region Africa and Europe we also have to follow the ideas of the WCC. I will bring you the best regards from the Central Committee meeting of 60 years old WCC.

Greetings from Lahti Deaconess House

Next I will greet you in the name of the Sisterhood of Lahti Deaconess House. We had the meeting of Sisterhood at the 15th to 16th of March 2008. The most of the Sisters, or those some Brothers, are not any more living or working in our Deaconess House. They live in their own way in own homes and with their families. It has been this way soon 50 years in Lahti. But we meet once in two years in the meeting of Sisterhood. We were about 100 sisters together. This year we discussed about ”happiness”. We learned to know that happiness is the sister to thankfulness. We have very many things every day, which we could name to give us happiness We should write them down to our calendar or memory book. So we learn to be more happy and thankful sisters in every day life. We also heard stories from sisters, which kind of happy moments they have had in their work or life. I remember one sister, who is working as a head nurse at a first aid department of the University Hospital. She told, how she makes every morning in her work room the cross upon her and she says the prayer: ”In the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God, bless my thoughts, bless my feelings and bless the work of my hands!” I will send this blessing from our Sisterhood to all of you for your new day and for your work.

At the end I will tell you a story about my students. I had a course of diaconia for 45 students, who began to study in our school in January. About 20 of them will be nursing assistants after three years and the others will be children's instructors in the church or in the kindergardens of the society. I gave them lessons of diaconia. Then I sent them to make a good work for someone in their families or neighbourhood. They had to write a report about their diaconal tasks. They had to tell me, why they wanted to help someone; what they had made; how they had done it and what it gave them or those people? I was so happy and thankful for God, when I read their stories and listened about their feelings. In every paper I could read, that they had a big joy! Helping bring joy and happiness! I see, that in our welfare society we always wait for help from others, from social workers, from nurses, teachers, mothers or fathers. Young people need experiences about diaconal helping. Some of my students told me: ”I knew, that this was diaconal work. I had feeling, that there is something special!”. My Sisters and Brothers. We are doing something very special in diaconia. We are serving God. God gives the joy in our heads.. when we learn to do well.

Deaconess Terttu Pohjolainen
Assistant Dean
Lahti Diaconia Institute
Vuorikatu 4
15110 Lahti, Finland