wfn.org | Australian Church Supports Ecumenical Engagement

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Church President Visits LWF Secretariat

NORTH ADELAIDE, Australia/GENEVA, 1 June 2001  (LWI) - The Lutheran Church
of Australia (LCA) recognizes the need to move forward with the other
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches and supports ecumenical
engagement at home and globally.

Rev. Mike Semmler, LCA president made these remarks during a visit to the
LWF Geneva secretariat, 14-16 May 2001 upon an invitation from LWF General
Secretary, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko.

Semmler stressed that the LCA, an LWF associate member church since 1994
"does not wish to be isolated." He said the Lutheran church with around
100,000 members, is opening up to cooperation with churches of other
Christian traditions in Australia, a vast country with a population of just
over 19 million.

Noko welcomed the LCA's ecumenical attitude and engagement. He applauded the
church's significant contribution to the LWF's exploration of what
"communion" means, its participation in the context of Lutheran churches in
Asia and involvement in relief work through Australian Lutheran World
Service.

Semmler presented the report of the Anglican-Lutheran Dialogue in Australia,
1972-2000, to Noko. It was formally handed over to the two churches in
Adelaide on 1 April 2001. The dialogue is co-chaired by (Anglican) Bishop
Graham H. Walden and (Lutheran) Rev. Dr. Victor C. Pfitzner.

Titled "Common Ground: Covenanting for Mutual Recognition and
Reconciliation"-between the Anglican Church of Australia and the Lutheran
Church of Australia-the report documents the faith and practice already
shared by Anglicans and Lutherans. It makes proposals for closer relations
and asks the two churches to accept the report as a basis for local
cooperation in providing pastoral care to people. The churches are asked to
solemnly pledge to walk together toward the long-term goal of
inter-communion and recognition of ministries. "Common Ground" aims not at
church union but at fellowship in the gospel. Anglicans make up 24 percent
of the Australian population.

The Lutheran church provides Christian education for all age groups
throughout Australia. It meets community needs through childcare and welfare
centers, family shelters and support agencies, singles' and youth ministry,
retirement villages, infirmaries, and through world relief. The church
reaches out to the community by ministering to its congregations, through
schools, radio and television programs, and distribution of Christian
literature. Lutheran missionaries have served among Australian Aborigines
and in Papua New Guinea for over 100 years. The LCA also supports the work
of churches in southeast Asia.

The May visit was Semmler's first to the LWF secretariat since his election
as LCA president in July 2000. He was accompanied by the church's
vice-president, Rev. Wayne Zweck and Mrs. Wendy Zweck.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 131 member
churches in 72 countries representing over 60.2 million of the nearly 64
million Lutherans worldwide. 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 acknowledgement.]

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