wfn.org | Noko tells churches in France about LWF's diversity

[FRANK.IMHOFF@ecunet.org]

STRASBOURG, France/GENEVA 30 May 2000 (LWI) - During a recent visit to the
Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine (ECAAL), the
general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Dr.  Ishmael Noko
said it is important to acknowledge the diversity of the Federation's
member churches.

The LWF is not a confessional fortress but a worldwide communion of (128)
churches that is committed to involving its members in ecumenical and
inter-faith dialogue, Noko emphasized when he met leaders and other workers
of the ECAAL as well as representatives of the Reformed Church of Alsace
and Lorraine.

Delivering an address in Strasbourg, the general secretary focused on the
Federation's response to the daily challenges and risks confronting
churches and society. Recalling the foundation of the LWF in 1947, two
years after the end of the Second World War, Noko, a theologian and
ordained pastor from Zimbabwe, said the intention at that time was to
actively respond to the basic needs of people who had experienced suffering
during the war. More recently, the Federation has made interventions in
matters concerning Church and State in Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone, and it
has similarly been involved in Yugoslavia, Namibia and other world nations
and regions experiencing serious conflict.

Noko said that the priorities of the LWF, much like those of
non-governmental organizations, include financial commitment in emergency
assistance, acts of mediation and development projects while collaborating
closely with partners such as the World Council of Churches, World Alliance
of Reformed Churches and Conference of European Churches, which are among
organizations based at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva.

Rev. Marc Chambron, the coordinator for the LWF Office for Communication
Services (OCS), who accompanied Noko on the trip to Eastern France, said
communication difficulties experienced by the churches prevent them from
benefiting from mutual information exchange. He said some churches lack the
technical and personnel resources, thereby minimizing opportunities to
share their ideas and experiences.

During a meeting with representatives of the ECAAL's High Consistory, the
governing body of the Lutheran church, President Marc Lienhard posed the
question, "When can we have the Eucharist together?" in view of the signing
of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by the LWF and
the Roman Catholic Church on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany.

In response, the LWF general secretary said although the road toward
inter-communion and mutual recognition of ministries will be long, the
trail has already been set by local initiatives. "Since there is great
expectation here and there, what is required is a universal agreement,"
Noko added.

Questioned about acts of repentance concerning the Jewish people, Noko
recalled that the LWF at its Seventh Assembly in Budapest, Hungary in 1984,
addressed the issue of pardon for "the sins and silence" of the Church
during the Shoah.

At the Federation's Seventh Assembly, Dr Gerhart M. Riegner, former General
Secretary of the World Jewish Congress spoke on "The Church and the Jewish
People," emphasizing that the new relationship between Lutherans and the
Jewish People was based on respect and, "therefore on the recognition of
the integrity of each faith community as it understands itself."

The joint statement by representatives of the International Jewish
Committee for Interreligious Consultation and the LWF emphasized that: "We
affirm the integrity and dignity of our two faith communities", and "we
commit ourselves to periodic consultations and joint activities that will
strengthen our common bonds in service to humanity".

The Assembly voted to receive the report of the Committee on the Church and
the Jewish People and commended the statements on "Luther, Lutheranism, and
the Jews" to the LWF member churches for further study and consideration. A
consultation involving Jewish participants chosen in a consultative
process, LWF member churches that have indicated that they are either
currently engaged in or interested in Lutheran-Jewish dialogue and
ecumenical participants is planned in 2001.

The Federation's new interdepartmental program on Jewish-Lutheran
dialogue/relations presently involves two offices in the Department for
Theology and Studies namely, Theology and the Church and The Church and
People of Other Faiths, and two offices of the General
Secretariat-International Affairs and Human Rights and Ecumenical Affairs.
It is based on the common responsibilities of the staff working team on
Lutheran-Jewish relations. This joint effort expresses a broad
understanding of these relations.

During his visit to France, the LWF general secretary also met with
representatives from one of the regions of the 40,000-member Evangelical
Lutheran Church of France, and participated in the church's regional synod.
The ECAAL, with 210,000 people is the largest of the three LWF member
churches in the country. The Malagasy Protestant Church in France, with
8,000 members joined the Federation in 1999.

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its highest
decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which meets
annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). 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.]

(This article was written by Richard Gossin, a journalist with the press
service of the Alsace and Moselle Protestant churches.)

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