The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark's Migration Collaboration is a national resource center and collaborative network for the branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark (Folkekirken) that focus particularly on being a church for the more than 900,000 immigrants and their descendants living in Denmark.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church's Migration Collaboration is organized as a flat network organization that supports the local work within the church. The approach involves collaboration, networking, knowledge, and the exchange of experiences. Nationally, the Migration Collaboration is established as a branch under the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Inter-Church Council. In each of the 10 dioceses, the work is coordinated by a resource person appointed by the bishop. Locally, the work is implemented in activities and communities within the parishes and the church's associations.
We are available to parish councils, priests, and employees of the church, as well as church organizations. For instance, you can contact us if you want to learn more about materials in other languages than Danish, cultural barriers, migrant congregations, language cafés, or meal communities. We are here to assist, whether you need advice on a specific issue or if you want to discuss how to approach a new initiative or collaboration.
Regarding external partners such as authorities, institutions, and the broader civil society, we are the national actor for the church's work with integration and foreigners. You can, for example, contact us if you want to learn more about collaborating with the church on integration, or if you need help finding relevant church partners in your area.
Why the Evangelical Lutheran Church's Migration Collaboration? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark is a church for the entire people, not just for churchgoers or members. Therefore, the church’s integration work includes everyone, regardless of cultural and religious background, and regardless of whether the need is social, practical, or spiritual. The church's particular strength lies in its holistic view of humanity, where existential and spiritual needs are also met, and where there is room to talk about faith. This is why we find that many foreigners—regardless of religious background—feel at home in the church's activities and communities.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church's Migration Collaboration has documented that the challenge of declining membership and baptism rates is primarily due to the arrival of new population groups who do not become part of the church. Many of the newcomers come from different cultural, ecclesiastical, and religious traditions and therefore do not have the same natural connection to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark as those who have been raised with it. The church thus risks becoming an ethnically homogeneous church in a diverse society. If the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark is to continue being a church for all people, it must therefore take on this challenge and work to reflect the population. The Evangelical Lutheran Church's Migration Collaboration was established to support this effort.
