wfn.org | LWI News in Brief

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

Engaging Economic Globalization as a Communion

"Our world today is being pervasively shaped--or distorted--by forces of
economic globalization, which increasingly are turning the world into one
unitary market...We must name, reflect on, and seek effective ways of
responding to the challenges this raises-if we really believe what we
confess." The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and
Studies (DTS) takes up these challenges in a recently published working
paper, Engaging Economic Globalization as a Communion.  Produced by the DTS
Church and Social Issues desk, the 25-page booklet seeks to initiate a
process throughout the LWF member churches and in their wider relationships
for reflecting on the dynamics and effects of economic globalization and
discerning "how to respond in light of the faith we confess, the values we
uphold, and the communion which we embody," according to Rev. Dr. Karen
Bloomquist, DTS director and study secretary for the church and social
issues. The booklet summarizes what is going on in economic globalization,
raises theological perspectives for examining the dynamics and effects of
economic globalization, and proposes different ways of responding,
especially in light of what it means to be a communion of churches in
society. "Communio is lived out as those in member churches of this
communion advocate and act out of this sense of relatedness, responsibility,
and accountability to others in the communion, and through them, to the rest
of the created world." The booklet will also be available in German, French
and Spanish.

For a free copy, contact Colette Muanda: cmu@lutherworld.org

*       *       *

Visa Problems Continue for Church Workers in Sudan

Church aid workers face increased difficulty entering Sudan and even greater
obstacles in obtaining residence permits according to Episcopal, Roman
Catholic and Protestant church sources there. The rising number of Christian
workers, including some long resident in Sudan, who have been refused a work
visa is causing widespread concern. Recently there have been expulsions of
church workers and at least one serious assault on a non-Sudanese working
for the church. (Sudan Church Review)

*       *       *

Silesian Church and SELK Sign Partnership Agreement

The Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in  the Czech
Republic (SCEAV) and the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany
(SELK) formalized their cooperation with an "Agreement on Partnership
Relations" on 19 April. Bishop Dr. Diethardt Roth (SELK) and Bishop
Vladislav Volnē (SCEAV) signed the agreement in Hanover. The church leaders
expressed appreciation for the growing interchurch relation, which
facilitates contact with churches in Western Europe. Speaking to Lutheran
World Information (LWI) Bishop Volnē stated the agreement did not imply any
change of emphasis in his church regarding women's ordination and ecumenical
commitment. The SCEAV wanted to continue maintaining "friendly relations
with Lutheran churches, in particular, and other Christian churches," Volnē
said. Regular contact between church leaders, cooperation in theological
education and other training, work with children and young people were
agreed on as areas of collaboration. Others were church music, promotion of
congregational "twinning" and support for service and mission. The SCEAV has
about 40,000 members and joined the LWF in 1956. The SELK with approximately
40,000 members is affiliated with the International Lutheran Council.

*       *       *

New Bishop to be Elected in Brunswick, Germany

Following the announcement that Rev. Dr. Christian Krause plans to step down
as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick, Germany, in
January 2002, the committee charged with appointing his successor has set 10
November 2001 as the election date. The Brunswick Synod President Gerhard
Eckels, said at a press conference on May 18 that a search committee already
has been appointed but finding candidates might "not be very easy." Krause,
president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) since 1997 announced his
intention to leave the bishop's office upon attaining the age of 62 on 6
January 2002. He said he will concentrate on his LWF responsibilities and
those as president of the Board of the Evangelical Development Service
(Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst). Krause will continue as LWF president
until the Tenth LWF Assembly in July 2003.

*       *       *

LWF Council Meets in Geneva, Switzerland, June 12-19

The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) will hold its annual
meeting from 12 - 19 June 2001 in Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva. This LWF
governing body includes 50 members both pastors and lay from many nations
and all continents. Advisers, observers and guests will also attend. It was
originally decided to hold this year's meeting in Israel/Palestine but
because of the tragic conflict there the venue was changed. The theme "The
Church: Called to a Ministry of Reconciliation" proposed by the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan will be retained and guide deliberations with
particular focus on Middle East situation. In addition to business sessions,
highlights will include a first report of the 2003 Assembly Planning
Committee, a public hearing on the churches' role in promoting a culture of
non-violence and a seminar on justice and peace in the Middle East.

*       *       *

British Roman Catholics and Lutherans Plan Joint Pilgrimage to Sweden

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Lutheran
Council of Great Britain (LCGB) are planning a joint Catholic-Lutheran
pilgrimage to Vadstena, Sweden in the summer of 2002. This developed from
recent contacts including a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification study day last February. Participants in the study day,
organized by the Theological Consultancy to the North East Churches held at
St. John's College, Durham heard presentations about the Joint Declaration,
signed by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Vatican on 31 October
1999. Presenters summarized the process that led to the Joint Declaration
signing, the theological significance for Roman Catholics and Lutherans, and
the two churches' future plans to follow up on the agreement. The
participants, who included clergy and laity, discussed the significance of
the doctrine of justification for modern Christians, the bearing of past
debates on relations between churches today and the ecumenical impact of the
Joint Declaration. The 90,000-member LCBG represents congregations that are
recognized by the LWF since 1989. (The Lutheran Link)

*       *       *

Sudan's 'Lost Boys' to Settle in USA

More than 3,000 of the so-called "lost boys of Sudan," now young adults,
have been approved for resettlement in the United States of America by the
state department there. An additional 200 Sudanese boys from Kakuma Refugee
Camp, managed by the Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service,
are being resettled in the US under the unaccompanied minors program. The
"lost boys" remain from some 30,000-40,000 Sudanese children who fled Sudan
in the late 1980s to escape war and forced military service. They reached
Ethiopia after a four-month trek. Forced to leave Ethiopia in 1991-2, they
returned to Sudan, many of them subsequently fleeing to northern Kenya.
Survivors of these journeys, about 90 percent male mainly from the Dinka
ethnic group, lost their families. They will be resettled in the USA in the
small groups in which they have lived in the Kakuma camp for the past seven
years. (Sudan Church Review)

*       *       *

ELCA Churchwide Assembly to Elect Presiding Bishop

Voting members to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Churchwide Assembly, August 8-14, in Indianapolis will elect a presiding
bishop and secretary, and among other issues consider adoption of a proposed
constitutional bylaw that is intended to respond to concerns about the
ELCA's full-communion agreement with the Episcopal Church. The Rev. H.
George Anderson, who will leave office as ELCA presiding bishop at the end
of October, will chair the assembly meeting under the theme "Making Christ
Known: Sharing Faith in a New Century." The churchwide assembly is the ELCA'
s highest legislative authority and represents the over 5.1 million members
of the ELCA, the fourth-largest Protestant denomination in the United States
and Caribbean. Anderson was elected presiding bishop in 1995. The ELCA is
the second largest member church of the Lutheran World Federation, which it
joined in 1988. (ELCANEWS)

*       *       *

Danish Mission Society Needs More Missionaries for Africa

The Danish Evangelical Mission to Ethiopia, a society established in 1948,
needs 20 more missionaries for its work in Ethiopia and Botswana. Presently
the staffs consist of only six missionaries in Ethiopia and six in Botswana.
The society is trying hard to motivate people in youth organizations. Filip
Christensen, the society's general secretary says it is seemingly easier to
recruit missionaries for Asia and Eastern Europe than for Africa. A number
of societies will launch an intercultural training for missionaries, and it
is hoped that this would revitalize engagement in the task. According to
Christensen's annual report to the society, this training is in its breadth,
content and planning among the richest "in perspective and inspiration we
have seen, for many years, in Danish missionary work." (Church News From
Denmark)

*       *       *

Burial Grounds for Muslims in Denmark

The Ministry of Church Affairs has selected five places in Denmark as burial
grounds for Muslims who are unwilling to make use of the many areas
available for them at Danish churchyards. Denmark has 160,000 Muslims. The
question of special burial grounds for Muslims has been discussed for years
and is, by no means, finally resolved. Muharrem Aydas, chairperson of an
organization representing ethnic minorities, fears it will be not only a
financial problem but also a religious-political one for Muslims to agree on
buying and administering a burial ground. The 4.5 million members of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark represent over 90 percent of the
Danish population. (Church News From Denmark)

*       *       *

Chaplains Concerned about Europe's Rising Prison Populations

Prison chaplains from 30 countries have expressed "alarm at the continuing
growth in prison populations in many European countries." The chaplains,
attending an international meeting in The Netherlands called on European
governments to prioritize prisoner resettlement schemes, which provide
advice, training and support to prepare offenders for their return to the
community after release from prison. They also urged those involved in
criminal justice systems in the region to "examine anew the use of custody
as a punishment." About 120 Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox
chaplains attended the European conference of the International Prison
Chaplains Association (IPCA), held from May 8 - 13 in Driebergen. The
association holds pan-European conferences every three to four years.
(Ecumenical News International)

*       *       *

Former LWI Editor-in-Chief Receives Finnish 'Communicator of the Year' Award

On May 22, Ms. Anneli Janhonen, a former director of the Lutheran World
Federation Office for Communication Services (OCS), received the
"Communicator of the Year 2000"award from the Finnish Association of
Communicators, PROCOM. Janhonen, 64, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
(ELCF), served as OCS director and editor-in-chief of Lutheran World
Information (LWI) from 1992 to 1998. The PROCOM prize, awarded for the first
time, is in recognition of Janhonen's work as a communicator in the church
and for her international career. Janhonen began her work as a journalist in
the 1960s with the Finnish church newspaper Kotimaa. She worked in the ELCF
information center from 1972, becoming its director in 1990. Upon leaving
the LWF, Janhonen returned to her home country where she served as general
secretary of the ELCF Jubilee Year 2000 from August 1998 to the end of 2000
when she retired.

(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.]

*       *       *
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Editor's e-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30
http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Articles/EN/LWI