October 31st is Reformation Day, the anniversary of the day in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg in eastern Germany, which led to the Protestant Reformation. It is a public holiday in many countries.
Commenting on the day, the Revd Richard Mortimer, deputy general secretary of the United Reformed Church, said: “It is good to have a specific date in the calendar when we can reflect on what it means to be Reformed.”
The Revd Dr Setri Nyomi, General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) has also issued a Reformation Day message:
“I bring you greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as we near the 2011 Reformation Day. As churches mark this day on Sunday and Monday, it is time for us to reaffirm our openness to God’s renewal… The work of renewal did not finish in the sixteenth century. We do not simply belong to a tradition. As Reformed, we believe the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a movement that continues to be renewed – always reforming.”
Dr Setri Nyomi continued his message with a call for the church to be effective as the salt and light of our communities, and a source of transformation of society: “As a communion committed to justice we cannot stay silent while people suffer injustice.”
He ended with a plea for Christian unity:
“Let us allow God to renew us and to strengthen us in a search for new ways of resolving conflicts within the church that will not fragment the church.
“Happy Reformation Day. May God bless you as you reflect semper reformanda“.
For the full text of Dr Setri Nyomi’s message, click here.