wfn.org | Sami People Support Autonomy within Church of Sweden

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

Sami People Support Autonomy within Church of Sweden
Sami Council to Clarify Possible Consequences

STOCKHOLM, Sweden/GENEVA, 12 May 2004 (LWI) * The Sami people
in Sweden have spoken out in favor of having their own
congregational structure within the Church of Sweden but not
linked to geographical borders. The Sami parliament has brought
this concern before the church council, according to a report in
the Swedish church paper Kyrkans Tidning.

"A congregational structure of our own would give us greater
independence. It would mean, for example, that we could finance
our activities ourselves," said Birger Nilsson, a member of the
Samelandsparti in the Sami parliament. The Sami parliament is
their highest decision-making body. Last autumn it voted
unanimously in favor of Nilsson's proposal to create a single
Sami congregational structure which transcended parish
boundaries. There are an estimated 17,000 members of the
indigenous Sami people in Sweden.

According to the Sami parliament, a distinct congregation for
the Sami would give them the possibility of appointing their own
pastors and other church workers. They would have their own
premises, could promote the Sami liturgy and provide better
pastoral care.

Up to about ten years ago, the Sami had their own pastoral
district within the Church of Sweden. "After that was
dissolved, it became increasingly difficult to conduct services
in the Sami language and to provide pastoral care in that
language," explained Nilsson. The creation of special pastoral
posts for work with the Sami in the dioceses of Haernoesand and
Lulee did not work out as planned as there is currently no pastor
in Haernoesand for the Sami congregation.

"For us it is unnatural to belong to two different dioceses.
But with our own congregational structure, all the Sami in Sweden
could be united under one roof. For this reason we would also
like our congregation to be linked with the archdiocese, which is
nation-wide," stated Nilsson.

The Sami Council of the Church of Sweden has not yet responded
to this plan. It wishes first to examine the possible
consequences of the proposal in detail. "I understand the need
of the Sami but I'm somewhat skeptical," said the council's
spokesperson, Johannes Marainen. "The Sami are naturally
members of their home congregations. But what if they suddenly
found themselves in another position? That would have
consequences, not least for their own identity." According to
Marainen, a better solution would be to establish one or two main
pastoral districts for the Sami.

There are currently five non-territorial congregations within
the Church of Sweden. Their continuation was affirmed after a
2000 discussion, also linked to the new church constitution. More
than 80 percent of the Swedish population belongs to the
7.1-million member church, the largest of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) member churches. 

During the LWF Tenth Assembly, July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada,
Indigenous Peoples for the first time in the history of the LWF
had meetings in which they shared their concerns and need to
stand together in addressing common issues. Representatives of
Indigenous Peoples from Bangladesh, Bolivia, Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Greenland, Honduras, India, Papua New Guinea, Norway
and Sweden formulated the issues that confront them in a message
that was presented to the Assembly. The Assembly in its Message
acknowledged that the Indigenous Peoples feel powerless and
voiceless regarding self-determination, access to education,
health care and job opportunities.

There are over 300 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide,
representing 4,000-5,000 of the 6,000 languages spoken all over
the world. While they are an essential part of the cultural
diversity of the human family, Indigenous Peoples also represent
the most threatened cultures globally, and in most cases the
poorest, most marginalized and most discriminated-against
populations. 

The Assembly in its message declared land rights as fundamental
to the survival of Indigenous Peoples and their cultures, and
called on LWF member churches to continue to recognize and
support the basic human rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
The churches were also urged to acknowledge and seek the presence
of Indigenous Peoples, affirm them as equal partners, and
challenge paternalistic patterns that keep them out of
participation in life and decision-making. (681 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing 62.3 million
of the almost 66 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information
service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not
represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
(LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

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