wfn.org | LWF churches urged to seek advice before entering agreements

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Churches urged to seek advice before entering agreement of fellowship
General secretary's letter underscores transparency, accountability

GENEVA, 17 February 1999 (lwi)  The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
general secretary, Ishmael Noko, has reminded LWF member churches of
their obligation to inform and seek the advice and counsel of the rest
of the Lutheran Communion before entering into binding forms of church
fellowship.

Singling out key steps in such a process, Noko emphasizes that the
procedure does not imply any infringement upon the authority of
individual member churches to make their own decisions in ecumenical
matters also. Rather, its main purpose is to secure appropriate
coherence, transparency and accountability in the ecumenical
involvement of the LWF member churches.

This advice is contained in a letter from the general secretary to the
member churches and national committees of the LWF. The February 1999
letter underscores concerns that are significant for the work of the
federation and its constituency.

Referring to the report, Towards a Common Date for Easter, from the
consultation held by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle
East Council of Churches in Aleppo, Syria in 1997, Noko encourages
Lutheran member churches of the WCC to study the report carefully and
respond to the WCC Secretariat regarding a proposal that the dates for a
common celebration of  Easter be determined by the necessary
calculations provided by astronomers.

The general secretary further requests the churches to share a copy of
their response with his office, as the matter of a Common Date for
Easter will also be an item on the agenda of  the LWF Council meeting in
Bratislava, Slovak Republic, this summer. Acknowledging the strong wish
in many churches that a common date be found for all the Christian
faithful to celebrate Easter, Noko says: "If the churches of all
traditions and regions agree to use this calculation, and to take
Jerusalem (the place of Christ's death and resurrection) as the meridian
reference, a common date for the celebration of Easter would be
possible."

The general secretary recalls that the 1997 consultation did not pursue
the question of agreeing on the same fixed date for Easter each year as
this would not be acceptable to the Orthodox churches. Instead, it was
agreed to keep the norm established by the Council of Nicea in 325,
namely that Easter should fall on the Sunday following the first vernal
full moon. However, he cautions individual churches against making any
decision to implement a new practice until a global agreement becomes a
reality.

Noko also highlights the process of long-range planning and workload
assessment for LWF staff in Geneva. The Council in 1999  will take a
final decision on the aims and goals of program planning approved by its
1998 meeting. Through the exercise, the secretariat hopes "to
communicate as clearly as possible how the LWF adds value to the witness
of the wider Christian communion and seeks to be responsible stewards of
what "God has graciously bestowed upon us," the general secretary
writes.

Other matters brought to the attention of the LWF member churches and
national committees for prayers and attention include expressions of
rising intolerance and fundamentalism in India, Indonesian government's
increased openness to the East Timor question, the possibility of
inter faith consultation on peace and reconciliation in Africa's "belt
of conflict", the ongoing unrest in Kosovo, and the aftermath of the
tropical storm Hurricane Mitch in Central America.

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/