wfn.org | LWF consultation sees trust, relationships as key concerns in North America

[franki@elca.org]

Gathering enabled deeper exploration of communion issues in mission

WINNIPEG, Canada/GENEVA, 12 December 2000 (LWI) - Participants in a historic
Lutheran World Federation consultation for the North America region
identified trust and relationships as the fundamental issues facing churches
and congregations in their mission efforts.

For the first time, representatives of the North American member churches of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) met to discuss mission in North America
in the context of deepening church relationships. Since 1990, LWF member
churches have understood that they are a "communion of churches" united in
pulpit and altar fellowship, developing deeper commitments to one another.
The development of "full communion" relationships with churches of Reformed,
Anglican and Moravian traditions in North America enriches the ecumenical
context.

Thirty-seven participants met in Winnipeg, Canada from 29 November to 3
December 2000, to explore the implications of being the North America
expression of the LWF communion of churches, using the theme "Fully the
Church in North America: What Does this Mean?" The gathering was made
possible by strengthened church relationships since the establishment of an
LWF regional office in North America in 1998.

Participants were from the Baltic diaspora churches (outside their home
countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), and
included ecumenical representatives from the Anglican Church of Canada,
Episcopal Church USA and Moravian Church - Northern Province, as well as
representatives from Lutheran churches in Argentina, Cameroon and Malaysia.
The representative from Cameroon, Rev. Etienne Fomgbami, is a missionary
from Cameroon to Canada, serving as the first Good News Partner in the
ELCIC. The LWF general secretary, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, delivered the
keynote address.

Dr. Karen L. Bloomquist, director of the LWF Department for Theology and
Studies said "the vision of communion cuts across the grain of how the
church has been defined in North America." She said that too often the
church is seen far more as a mirror of society than as salt within society.
Creating spaces and occasions where people can meet face-to-face across
boundaries that usually separate us makes it possible to address those
issues which tend to keep people apart.

Visits with local communities, both urban and rural, enabled participants to
learn how mission crosses the boundaries in relationships between Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal people, the farm crisis and the impact of globalization,
ministry amidst poverty and affluence, and Lutheran-Anglican joint mission.
Participants recommended that similar opportunities be created for people to
come together across boundaries (such as national borders, denominations,
gender, ethnicity and age) to hear each other's stories and appreciate God's
gifts in each other. Such encounters are natural explorations of the theme
of the LWF Tenth Assembly, "For the Healing of the World", to be held in
Winnipeg, Canada, from 21 to 31 July 2003.

Dr. Richard Bliese of Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago indicated that
theological and practical study of mission plays a very minor role at
Lutheran seminaries and in church programs in North America. He said that
Lutherans tend to prefer global, confessional and ecumenical theologies and
ministries over approaches which address the particular context and needs of
mission in North America. Many older structures in congregations and church
agencies simply cannot respond to the demands of ministry and mission today.

Lutherans justify the status quo of inaction through their theological
quietism, said Rev. Eddie Kwok of Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon.
He cited cultural captivity and ethnocentrism as ways in which the North
American culture stifles evangelistic fervor.

Participants described the consultation as the kind of gathering that
enabled deeper exploration of communion issues in mission, and were hopeful
that such encounters would help the churches' understanding of the North
American context for mission. The main objective of the consultation was to
develop "an agenda for communion in North America", in other words, a list
of issues and challenges needing attention for the sake of mission in the
region.

An important issue which the consultation began to identify was how the
smaller ELCIC, with about 196,000 members, and Baltic diaspora churches
which have a combined membership of about 17,000 can share their gifts and
concerns within the Lutheran communion in North America, when they are
dwarfed by the size and reach of the ELCA which has nearly 5.2 million
members. In an attempt to cross this size boundary, the ELCA and ELCIC had
an equal number of participants in the consultation.

The consultation's findings and recommendations will be reported and
discussed in settings that include congregational and church
representatives-within LWF and in ecumenical relationships -with the
intention to extend the consultation's experience of crossing boundaries and
building trust. It was noted that deepening relationships makes it possible
to engage in common witness and service, and joint decisions in planning
mission.

(By Rev. Kenn Ward 
Editor, Canada Lutheran)

(The LWF is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries
representing over 59 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, normally held every six years.
Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council which meets
annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its 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.]

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