wfn.org | LWF News in Brief - June-July 2000

[FRANK.IMHOFF@ecunet.org]

LWF Council appoints planning committee for the Tenth Assembly

The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at its meeting in
Turku, Finland, from June 14 to 21, appointed persons to serve on the
Planning Committee for the Tenth Assembly of the LWF. The Tenth
Assembly will take place in Winnipeg, Canada in 2003. Chairing the
Assembly Planning Committee is Rev. Susan E. Nagle from the U. S. A..
On the new committee, Rev. Nagle, who is also chairperson of the
Program Committee for Mission and Development, and Robert Granke,
from Canada, represent the North American region. Other Assembly
Planning Committee members include Rev. Dr. Wanda Deifelt, Brazil,
and Raymon Wimpel, Suriname Latin America and Caribbean region; Ms.
Elizabeth Lobulu, Tanzania, and the Rev. Dr. Thomas Nyiwe Africa
region; Bishop Jubil Raplan Hutauruk, Indonesia, and Josephine Tso,
Hong Kong, China Asia region; Rev. Ane Hjerrild, Denmark, and Prof.
Klas Hansson, Sweden Northern Europe region; Prof. Joachim Track,
Germany, and Dr. Mary E. Janssen van Raay, the Kingdom of the
Netherlands Western Europe region; and Ewa Sliwka, Poland, and Rev.
Tiit Paedam, Estonia for the Eastern Europe region. In addition, the
committee will have consultants from the World Council of Churches
and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Further the Assembly
host church, the ELCIC, will nominate youth representatives to serve
on this committee.

Swiss Francs 15 million for the Geneva Coordination Budget

The LWF Council meeting in Turku, Finland from 14 to 21 June 2000
approved the expenditure of CHF 15,074,550 (USD 9.3 million) for the
Geneva Coordination Budget for 2001. This represents an increase of
1.63 percent against the amount approved for the year 2000. Further
the Council received the auditor's report and the financial
statements 1999 of the General Secretariat and the LWF departments.

Increase in membership fees

The Council approved an increase in membership fees by three percent
each for 2001 and 2002, and requested the LWF General Secretary to
continue the discussions with member churches on adjustment of
membership fees as follow up of the Membership Consultation. During
deliberations on this item in the Program Committee for Finance and
Administration, it was noted that there is an urgent need to broaden
the financial basis of non-earmarked funding by increasing the
membership fees.

Priority for the LWF web site

During its meeting, the Program Committee for Communication Services
learnt with interest and concern about the development and current
difficulties of the LWF web site, and underscored that the web site
is part of the communication mission of the LWF. The Council
recommended therefore that the Executive Committee considers the
staffing of the Office for Communication Services (OCS) to assure a
sustainable management and development of the web site as a priority
for the good of all LWF departments.

LWF to maintain its financial contribution to ENI in 2001

The Council recommended that the LWF contribution to the Ecumenical
News International (ENI) amounting to CHF 100,000 be maintained for
the year 2001 as an ecumenical policy in the expectation that also
budget requests related to the OCS Statement of Needs are covered,
and providing that ENI submit a satisfactory report to the Council as
had been requested in 1999. At its previous meeting in Bratislava,
Slovak Republic, the Council recommended that the LWF provide for the
year 2001 and 2002 financial support toward ENI in the expectation
that ENI actively develop its network of correspondents in an attempt
to improve the geographical balance of coverage, broaden its funding
basis by finding additional partners and sponsors, and that
collaboration between ENI and Lutheran World Information (LWI) be
enhanced. Set up in 1994, the ecumenical news agency is jointly
funded by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the LWF, the
Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches (WARC), all based in Geneva. The WCC assumes the
major share of ENI's funding, followed by the LWF and then the WARC
and CEC.

No German version of ENI

As requested by the Council at its 1999 meeting, the OCS conducted a
survey among German-speaking Lutheran churches and media agencies on
the best way to distribute news in German form the Ecumenical Center.
Following an analysis of the survey it emerged that there is no
strong wish for ENI in German.. The Program Committee therefore
resolved that a selection of ENI stories be made and published in
German at the initiative of the LWI German editor, giving credit to
ENI as expected, and that an evaluation of this form of collaboration
with the participation of LWI German readers be carried out after one
year. ENI maintains two language editions, with the English one being
translated into French.

Promotion, subscription policy to be initiated for LWF publications

The Program Committee for Communication Services addressed the
important need for subscription and promotion as it had in its
meeting at the LWF Council meeting in Bratislava last year. The
Committee at its meeting in Turku pointed out that LWI should not be
isolated from other publications but rather a global policy for all
LWF publications should be developed with allocation of staff time
and identification of clear target groups. The General Secretary was
therefore requested to initiate a policy for promotion and
subscription of LWF publications. The Program Committee expressed
gratitude to the Rev. Marc Chambron from France for his professional
and caring coordination of the work of the OCS in the absence of a
director. Chambron has been serving as coordinator for the OCS since
February 1999. The newly appointed director and editor-in-chief, Rev.
John A. Evenson, from the Lutheran Church in Great Britain will take
up his position at the Geneva Secretariat in August 2000.

Department for Theology and Studies gets new director

At its meeting in Turku, Finland, the Executive Committee and the LWF
Council appointed the Rev. Karen L. Bloomquist, Ph.D. from the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), USA, as the new
director of the LWF Department for Theology and Studies (DTS)
beginning July 1. The 52-year-old pastor and theologian succeeds
Danish theologian Dr. Viggo Mortensen who left that position in
February 1999. Bloomquist, who has already served as acting director
for the DTS for one year, will work for a three-year term as director
of the department and as its Study Secretary for the Church and
Social Issues. Before joining the LWF, she had for 12 years served as
Director for Studies in the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
During that period she helped shape the church's social witness
through the development of its social statements, studies, and
messages. She has also served as a professor at Lutheran School of
Theology at Chicago and Wartburg Theological Seminary, and has
taught, spoken, and written on many themes. One of the first women
ordained in the American Lutheran Church, she has pastored
congregations in California and New York. Her degrees are from St.
Olaf College, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and Union
Theological Seminary (N.Y.). She is married to the Rev. William R.
Strehlow, and they have a 17-year old son, Aaron.

Other staff appointments by the LWF Executive Committee

Dr. Laura Graf (47) from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), U SA, becomes the new Secretary for Evaluation and
Documentation in the Department for World Service (DWS) for a period
of four years beginning September. Her predecessor was Ms.Carol
Birkland also from the ELCA. Graf holds a Ph. D. in Sociology and a
Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Washington University and
Carleton College, USA respectively. Since 1993, she has been heading
a management team responsible for a research group that provides
support to a global organization and its clients. The Rev. Martin
Junge (38), president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile
since 1996, becomes the new Area Secretary for Latin America and the
Caribbean in the Department for Mission and Development (DMD)
beginning September for a period of four years. He studied theology
at the Georg Augusta University in Goettingen, Germany, and was
ordained in 1989 in Chile. Junge succeeds the Rev. Silvio Schneider
who left that position in June. The Rev. Timo Reuhkala (43) from
Finland will from August take up his new position as Secretary for
Christian Education and Communication Consultancy in the DMD for a
period of four years. Since 1997 Reuhkala has been teaching at
Helsinki Evangelical College and Diaconia Polytechnic in Finland. A
specialist in Internet training and communication, Reuhkala holds a
master of theology from Helsinki University. Lemma Degefa (49) from
the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus has been appointed to
the position of Program Secretary-Training and Exchange in the DWS
for a period of four years, replacing Bram Voets from the
Netherlands, who has retired from that position. Degefa who is
expected to assume his new responsibilities in September  has been
serving in the same Department as Program Secretary-Emergencies since
1997. Before joining the Geneva Secretariat Degefa had served for
several years on the LWF/DWS staff in Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia.
Beginning September Shirley Golding (59) takes up her new position as
Secretary for Finance and Administration in the DWS for a period of
three years. Golding, a member of the Lutheran Church of Australia
has been serving in acting capacity in the same position since 1999.
Prior to her responsibilities at the Geneva Secretariat, Golding had
worked in the LWF/DWS Zimbabwe program. John Damerell (43) from Great
Britain has been appointed Coordinator for Program Implementation in
the DWS for a period of four years beginning September. Damerell, who
is currently serving as the LWF/DWS representative in the Balkans,
replaces Ms. Kaanaeli Makundi from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Tanzania, who left that position at the end of April. Previously he
has served on the DWS programs in Ethiopia, Namibia, Cambodia,
Mauritania, Angola, Albania and Kosovo.

World Service Liberia acknowledges support from FinnChurchAid

At the closing session of the LWF Council meeting in Turku, the
director of the LWF/DWS, Rev. Rudolf Hinz, expressed gratitude for
the support received toward DWS country programs from the people of
Finland through FinnChurchAid (FCA). "When talking about the so-
called related agencies in the most direct meaning of the word
'related', FinnChurchAid has been one the closest relatives in the
family of the LWF/DWS related agencies," Hinz said. As a token of
appreciation, he presented to the FCA director, Dr. Tapio Saraneva, a
cross crafted from an artillery shell. The brass cross was made by a
group of ex-fighters in the civil war in the West African country of
Liberia. The cross, which weighs five kilograms, symbolizes the
strong desire that the people of Liberia have for peace. The LWF/DWS
rehabilitation program there has provided relief for the civil
population affected by the war. In addition it has supported the
peace process with assistance provided by FCA even through the seven-
year civil war in that country. In 1999, FCA contributed around USD
100,000 toward the rehabilitation of civil society in Liberia. The
aid and development agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Finland participates in programs implemented by the LWF, local
churches and communities as part of the global network of churches
and church-related agencies.

Memorial Day proposed for "Joint Declaration"

Presenting greetings to the LWF Council on behalf of the Roman
Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christianity Unity
(PCPCU), Rev. Dr. Matthias Tuerk proposed that a "Memorial Day" or
"Reconciliation Day" be observed annually on the church calendar to
commemorate the signing on by the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church
of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Tuerk told
participants in the Council meeting that this could be done by way of
an ecumenical worship service or a holiday with the aim to
continuously maintain the new ecumenical climate between Lutherans
and Roman Catholics. He noted that especially on the pastoral level,
such commemoration would be a way of giving "our common witness" to
the world. The PCPCU representative recalled the message of Pope John
Paul II on the day of the signing (31 October 1999) of the Joint
Declaration. The pontiff described the confirmation of the Joint
Declaration as a milestone on the not easy road toward the
restoration of full unity between Christians.

WARC general secretary anticipates coordinating future Assemblies
with the LWF

Addressing the LWF Council at its meeting in Turku, the general
secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), Rev. Dr.
Setri Nyomi, said he honored the experience of hope seen in the
growing close relationship between the LWF and the Reformed. Nyomi in
his greetings to the Council pointed out that although the WARC would
have wished to plan a simultaneous Assembly (in the year 2004) with
the LWF, the Alliance is committed to the possibility of at least
coordinating the Assemblies of the two world Christian communions.
The Assemblies of WARC are held ordinarily once in five years the
last meeting took place in 1997, and the next one is scheduled for
2002. (For LWF Assemblies, see LWI No. 6 for June 2000, page 12). The
Leuenberg Agreement (1973) between Lutheran, Reformed and United
churches in Europe, a pioneering bilateral agreement of church
fellowship has further developed theologically. In November 1999, the
Lutheran-Reformed Working Group met in Geneva within the framework of
the mandate received from the parent bodies, to review the present
state of Lutheran-Reformed relations on the regional and
international levels and to identify possible forms of practical
cooperation, among other objectives.

The implication of the Joint Declaration for the ecumenical
fellowship

According to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches
(WCC), Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser, the celebration of the signing of the
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification on 31 October 1999
in Augsburg, Germany, meant for the entire ecumenical fellowship an
"important step in making visible our God-given unity." In a message
read on his behalf by the WCC Executive Secretary, Church and
Ecumenical Relations, Ms. Teny Pirri-Simonian, Raiser said it was his
hope that by "preparing and owning the Joint Declaration" both the
LWF and the Roman Catholic Church would take "our common ecumenical
journey to points that we cannot currently envisage." Raiser also
spoke of the cooperation between the WCC and the LWF on various
levels, mentioning in particular the possibility of joint Assemblies
by both Christian organizations and the implications thereof. While
he noted that better stewardship of resources and cooperation between
the two organizations will have to be seriously and responsibly
considered when thinking about future Assemblies, he underscored that
what is at stake beyond these institutional interests is the very
credibility of the one ecumenical movement and its impact on the life
and witness of the respective churches in the coming century.
Assemblies of the WCC meet at seven-year intervals the last Assembly
was held in 1998, and the next one is most likely to take place in
2005.

Anglican Communion underscores common vision of the Church

The secretary general of the Anglican Communion, Rev. Canon John L.
Peterson, told participants in the LWF Council meeting that Anglicans
and Lutherans are becoming ever more aware that they are moved and
inspired by a common vision and concern for the mission of the
Church. "The relationship of communion between six Lutheran churches
and four Anglican churches which the Porvoo Agreement has brought
about is one of the more dramatic signs of our growing together,"
said Peterson in greetings conveyed to the Council on his behalf by
Archbishop Michael Peers of the Anglican Church of Canada. Peterson
noted that in other parts of the world, dialogue between the
Anglicans and Lutherans is also proving very fruitful, and in some
cases agreements of communion are before the churches in these
regions. He also cited the Anglican-Lutheran International Working
Group, which had its first meeting last February, and noted that the
group has suggested some steps in practical cooperation which can be
taken as a result of the deepening fellowship shared by both
Christian world communions. (See LWI No. 3/2000, page 15)

Methodists keen on consultation with Lutheran and Catholic scholars

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, signed by the
Lutheran World Federation and Roman Catholic Church, will affect "all
future dialogues." Ralph C. Young, a representative of the World
Methodist Council (WMC) made these remarks, when he conveyed to the
LWF Council greetings from the WMC president, Dr. Francis Alguire and
the general secretary, Dr. Joe Hale. Young pointed out that the WMC,
which has been also involved in bilateral dialogues with Catholics
for many years (since 1967) was so deeply impressed by the Joint
Declaration that "we would like to seek an appropriate date for
consultation with Lutheran and Catholic scholars, both to indicate
our own interest in your agreement and to consider its implications
for our bilateral conversations and relationships." At the
international level, the LWF-WMC Joint Commission submitted a final
report in 1984, "The Church, Community of Grace" which was later
approved by the LWF Assembly in Budapest in 1984, and by the WMC in
1986. The report, which has been widely distributed recommended that
churches of the two Christian world communions not only engage in
common efforts and witness in the world but also take steps to
declare and establish full fellowship of Word and Sacrament. This has
already happened in many countries. Noting that there has been no
formal joint committee work at the international level since 1984,
Young wondered whether the time has not come for review and for
further exploration together.

Visible unity of Church depends on "all of us"

If visible unity is truly regarded as the goal of the churches'
ecumenical endeavors, then there is a need to strive for a common
understanding of the nature and the presuppositions of that unity,
which even presently is interpreted in various different ways by the
different Christian churches. According to Archbishop John of Karelia
and all Finland, this visible unity was once a reality in the Ancient
Church but it "depends on all of us" whether and to what extent it
again will be a concrete reality now and in the future. The Orthodox
Archbishop made these remarks when he brought greetings to the LWF
Council meeting in Turku, Finland from 14 to 21 June 2000. In his
message which was presented on his behalf by Archpriest Teppo Siili,
Archbishop John said he was encouraged to see the growth of mutual
knowledge between the different church traditions in general and
particularly in Finland, where several years ago a bilateral
theological dialogue was started between the Lutherans and Orthodox.

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