wfn.org | Opening Worship of the 2002 LWF Council Meeting in Wittenberg

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

LWF Vice-President Ishaya: "A Special Place Where Our Heritage
Started"

LWF Council Meeting, Wittenberg, Germany, 10-17 September 2002

Press Release No. 2

WITTENBERG, Germany/GENEVA, 9 September 2002 * (LWI) - The
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) began its 2002 Council Meeting
Monday, September 9, at the place where Martin Luther launched the
Protestant Reformation - the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. In his sermon during the opening worship
service, Bishop Axel Noack of the Evangelical Church of the
Province of Saxony explained "some phenomena of German history"
that many visitors may find confusing.

The Schlosskirche, where the body of Martin Luther is entombed, is
nowadays not a Lutheran church, said Noack. This historic Lutheran
site is a symbol of ecumenism, he said. It was at this very place,
80 years ago, that churches of the Reformed, United and Lutheran
traditions signed an agreement establishing a federation of
churches that developed into what is today the Protestant Church
in Germany, EKD.

During the 20th century, this part of Germany was under communist
rule for 40 years. Parents and grandparents did not share their
faith with their children, said Noack, because they did not want
to create difficulties for their children. Today, most of the
local population knows very little about the Christian faith - a
situation similar to what Martin Luther found when he inspected
16th century churches. Luther wrote the Small Catechism, helping
pastors nd parents "all over the world to state the foundations of
the Christian faith briefly and precisely," he said.

This year's Council meeting was originally scheduled for
Jerusalem, but because of the difficult political situation in the
Middle East it was moved to Wittenberg, hosted by the LWF National
Committee in Germany (LWF/GNC). The June 2001 meeting, also should
have taken place in Jerusalem, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Jordan but was shifted to Geneva, Switzerland.
Oberkirchenraetin Kaete Mahn, LWF/GNC executive secretary, was
among officials addressing a news conference earlier today. She
said the 13 Lutheran churches in Germany financially support and
share in the work of the LWF, and they welcome the chance to host
the Council meeting in the birthplace of Lutheranism.

"This is a special place where our heritage started," added
Parmata A. Ishaya, an LWF vice-president and lay member of the
Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria. At the news conference, she
pointed out that the Lutheran church now extends from Wittenberg
to every corner of the earth. "I am glad to be a Lutheran because
this is an inclusive church," said Ishaya. "Women are allowed to
be ordained and to sit where men sit," she noted.

The historic setting of Wittenberg is the theme of the LWF Council
meeting, Agneta Ucko, LWF deputy general secretary, said at the
news conference. She outlined for reporters several elements of
the Council agenda including the address of the LWF president and
reports of the general secretary and treasurer; an address by Dr.
Johannes Rau, president of the Federal Republic of Germany; and
approval of details for the LWF Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg,
Canada, 21-31 July 2003.

Other concerns before the LWF governing body include a discussion
about what it means to be a "communion" of churches within the
Christian community worldwide; consideration of several options
for the name of the organization; membership application from four
more churches; and providing leadership formation or several young
Lutherans who are assisting the meeting coordinators as volunteer
stewards.

Participants in this year's meeting include 103 representatives
from the 133 LWF member churches, and an additional 140, among
them LWF staff, interpreters, stewards, press and invited guests.

Staff of the LWF Office for Communication Services at the Council
meeting can be contacted at German mobile telephone No., +49-(0)
170-8345 177.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 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 acknowledgment.]

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