wfn.org | Identifying a Lutheran Strategy for a Broken World

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

LWF Council Receives Report of Assembly Planning Committee

12 - LWF COUNCIL MEETING, 12-19 JUNE 2001

GENEVA 18 May 2001 (LWI) - As she reflects on the progress being made in
organizing the Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev.
Susan Nagle, Chairperson of the Assembly Planning Committee (APC) says, "I
get a sense of great energy about this Assembly." Using the theme "For the
Healing of the World," the Assembly will be held in Winnipeg, Canada, 21 -
31 July 2003.

"People want this Assembly, want this theme, want to work together on it,"
says Nagle. "Healing and reconciliation are the essential work of the
church." She notes that the focus of LWF President Christian Krause on
reconciliation in his address to the LWF Council in its meeting here June
12-19, had a very powerful impact on those present and had begun to
demonstrate the potential of the Assembly theme to help participants bring
its words to life.

The main aim of the assembly should be to identify a Lutheran strategy for a
broken world that needs healing and not just electing officers, observed the
Program Committee for Mission and Development.

As the LWF Council members received the APC report they approved five
specific purposes in addition to the regular responsibilities of an LWF
Assembly such as giving general direction to the work of the Federation and
electing the President and the members of the LWF Council.

The proposals specific to the Tenth Assembly are to:
o explore ways to be God's instruments for healing, justice and
reconciliation in the midst of brokenness in church and society,
o deepen understanding and experience of the Lutheran communion by
addressing differences and disparities and by sharing gifts,
o commit to closer and deeper cooperation within the ecumenical movement and
to life in communion as given in Christ,
o discern the challenges posed to Lutheran churches in today's multicultural
and multifaith context,
o address spiritual, social and environmental challenges provoked especially
by economic globalization.

The Council approved a plan for the number of delegates and composition of
the delegations, where due balance between the Northern and Southern
hemispheres was observed, also taking into the smaller churches. Of the
expected 432 delegates, 217 will come from the South while 215 will be from
the North. LWF member churches in the Southern Hemisphere will be
represented by 31 delegates from Latin America, 83 from Africa, and 103
delegates from Asia, while the delegations from the Northern Hemisphere will
include 31 from North America and 191 from Europe. The LWF Council also
assigns the number of men, women and youth in a given delegation with
guidelines for inclusion of clergy and laypersons.

Besides delegates an Assembly has a wide range of other
participants-representatives of associate members churches, observers from
LWF recognized congregations and national committees, official visitors,
ex-officio participants, advisors, guests, LWF staff and co-opted staff,
local staff, interpreters and translators, stewards, and accredited press.

"The coming of the LWF to Canada is a great opportunity for us to welcome
into our country, into our city, into our church and in some cases, into our
homes and onto our farms people who we only maybe read about or see pictures
of on television," says Bishop Telmor Sartison of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Canada (ELCIC), the Tenth Assembly host church.

Included in the Assembly communication plans is use of the Internet to make
it possible for the worldwide communion to participate in the Assembly, thus
expressing the "koinonia" of the federation.

Worship life is a significant part of any Assembly. The Standing Committee
for International Affairs Human Rights underlined the need for joyful
celebrations and celebrative moments at the Assembly as an instrument and
expression of healing.

Preparations for Winnipeg will include collecting and developing material
for an Assembly worship resource, with the possibility that at a later date,
on the basis of further assessment of its potential use, this may become a
new international Lutheran hymnbook.

The LWF Council affirmed the importance of the Pre-Assembly Consultations
and encourages member churches to provide additional funding for these
consultations. It is also requesting member churches to actively involve
youth in the preparation of the Assembly and plans to include on the
Assembly's agenda one plenary session for presentation and discussion of the
report of the Pre-Assembly Youth Consultation.

Reliable figures were not yet available for the Assembly budget. The Council
is striving for a balanced budget of around a total of USD 2.5 million. As
part of efforts to ensure that happens, it is encouraging member churches to
pay the outstanding contributions to the Assembly Fund by 2003 and has asked
the General Secretary for strong monitoring of the budget.

Interest is growing in the Winnipeg area as people start to plan for the
arrival of the Assembly according to ELCIC Secretary Robert Granke who
oversees work of the ELCIC in preparing for the Assembly. "Hospitality is a
central part of our role as the host," he says. "We are working to ensure
that people feel welcome and to see that their needs are taken care of when
they are in Winnipeg."

The Ninth LWF Assembly was held in Hong Kong, China 8-16 July 1997, marking
the first time the  highest decision-making body of the federation was
meeting in Asia. Over 1,000 people participated in the Assembly, including
385 official delegates from the 122 member churches at that time.

The Assembly theme was "In Christ - Called to Witness."

By Kenn Ward

(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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