FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

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They want to have contact with three different types of
churches:
1. Growing churches,
2. Persecuted churches,
and
3. Churches that are on the decline.
The goal is to have different types of input into Finnish congregations,
and have a variety of options for action.
Growing churches bring new ideas, new energy, encouragement
and joy. Persecuted churches can teach steadfastness,
faithfulness and show that the Gospel can provide faith, love
and hope, even in very difficult situations. Contact with
churches that are in similar situations as ELCF may help to find
ways of combating the decline.IS
It seems that dioceses and larger parishes have formulated
their own strategies, where they define their own interest and
needs. The strategy then means that potential cooperation
partners must fit to those definitions. This may limit the possibilities
of having cooperation agreements with churches, or
congregations, in the Middle East.
When we think of future I believe that contacts and cooperation
will continue much as before. The role of protestant
churches in the Middle East as the initiators will become more
important, and FELM will playa central role in actual operations,
at least, between ELCJHL and Finnish Lutheran partners.
There has been some interest, by some other ELCF mission
organizations, to build similar relations to Middle East protes­
18 Interview: Rev. Jukka Jamse'n
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