Emilio Castro, General Secretary World Council of Churches (WCC) and
Gunnar Staalsett, General Secretary Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
In: "Why is this happening to me …?", St.Paul/Minneapolis, USA 1987

… all important declarations ... need to be amplified by concrete insight and guidance. This we feel is done in a remarkably helpful way by Prof. Dr. Erika Schuchardt in her book, now appearing in English, Why is this happening to me …? – a kind of “narrative theology”

Common Word of Introduction World Council of Churches and Lutheran World Federation

Too often in the twentieth century have the churches been required to say, “Late we come – but we come!” This has been true, paradoxically, in respect of the struggles of many people justice and fundamental human rights. Sadly, too, it is true of the movement to condemn and compensate for the countless violations of the rights and dignity of so many disabled persons, who are still excluded from full participation in society. Yet there are now clear signs that the church is expanding and deepening its ministry to the disabled, often the persons least accepted by society.
At its Sixth Assembly, held in Vancouver in 1983, the World Council of Churches introduced concrete recommendations concerning ministry to persons with disabilities:

“We are all created in the image of God; all of us, including persons with disabilities, are
living stones of the house which God is building, which is the Church. Persons with
disabilities cannot be isolated; they are part of the house (oikos), and essential for the
wholeness of the life and worth of the Church”.

And the Lutheran World Federation, at its Seventh Assembly, held in Budapest in 1984, stated the challenge like this:

”…if the ministry of Christ is to be one that allows the transforming power of grace to
bring hope out of despair, new humanity out of inhumanity, it must be carried out in
those places where human dignity and rights are most consistently violated, the
community of disabled people.”

But as with all important declarations, such statements need to be amplified by concrete insight and guidance. This we feel is done in a remarkably helpful way by Prof. Dr. Erika Schuchardt in her book, now appearing in English, Why is this happening to me …? Guidance and Hope for Those who Suffer. Using vivid personal accounts written by people undergoing crisis – a kind of “narrative theology” – and bringing to bear penetrating insight into the religious, psychological and educational dimensions, the author illuminates how persons suffering crises, illness or disabilities can, with dignity and integrity, become part of a free and truly human community. What is required is not simply a ministry “to and for” suffering persons, but rather a ministry “of, by and with” them. This book contains clearcut guidelines for the liberation of innumerable people with disabilities, individuals who are in reality often the outcasts of our world. We will also find there new forward-looking and hope-giving insights on suffering itself, that manifold and deepseated reality.
The cry of this book is loud and clear. The churches – and the ecumenical movement – must come.