wfn.org | (LWF) Luther Exhibit Debuts at World Conclave

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

LWF Tenth Assembly, Winnipeg, Canada, 21-31 July 2003

PRESS RELEASE NO. 07

Luther Exhibit Debuts at World Conclave
"Martin Luther: The Reformer" To Tour North America

Winnipeg, Canada, July 22, 2003 - From the modern halls of the Winnipeg
Convention Center into the German Reformation world of Martin and Katherine
Luther, one steps back in time 500 years upon entering a remarkable traveling
exhibition of Martin Luther memorabilia that was unveiled July 22 at the
Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation.  The exhibit is titled,
"Martin Luther: The Reformer."

Sabine Sparwasser, representative of the German Ambassador to Canada,
officially opened the exhibition from the floor of the assembly, welcoming
participants to "Luther's front door" in Wittenberg.  She spoke of Luther's
conviction that Christians should be empowered by the gospel to bring about
healing in the world through political as well as religious institutions.

The 700 participants in the assembly will have a full ten days to browse
through more than 100 books, manuscripts, illustrations, paintings and other
documents recording the life and work of the man whom "Life" magazine ranked
third among the most influential people of the past millennium. 

Dr. Cornelia Doemer, executive director of the Luther Center in Wittenberg
Germany, stated that the exhibition is organized in a circle representing
"the twelve chapters of Luther's life." It contains the first Gutenberg
Bible, paintings and illustrations by Albrecht Durer and Lucas Cranach,
manuscripts by Luther and a letter by his wife.  

Astoundingly all the pieces in the exhibit are painstaking replicas and
facsimiles of the originals, which reside in the town of the German state of
Saxony-Anhalt that were central to Luther's life.  Dr. Doemer stated that the
replicas were created during the years of the former German Democratic
Republic by German craftsmen and artists who had no Luther exhibitions to
mount and therefore no challenges besides artistic and historic integrity.  

The exhibit's creators have succeeded in creating an environment * complete
with actors in period dress portraying Martin and Katherine Luther * that
affords the viewer an atmospheric as well as authentic taste of life at the
dawn of the Reformation.

The exhibit portrays Martin Luther, monk, spiritual seeker, courageous
reformer, eloquent preacher, brilliant teacher, and loving family man, as the
theologian who not only transformed western Christianity but also reformed
German language and culture.  The Protestant Reformation took root in Germany
and then spread across Europe and the world. 

Since the collapse of communism, Doemer said, it has been a joy once again
to invite the people of the world to Wittenberg to visit the Luther sites in
person.  She added that this tour offers the opportunity to take Luther to
America to be more fully appreciated by Americans of German heritage, by
Lutherans and by the public in general.   

It is the ultimate tribute to Luther that the church that bears his name
honors him at its world gathering, 500 years after his death in 1546. 

The Luther exhibit will be open at no charge to the public on the main floor
of the Winnipeg Convention Center from July 22 * 30, during the LWF Assembly.
 The Following the assembly, "Martin Luther: The Reformer" will tour twelve
sites in the U.S., beginning at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is taking place
21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, under the theme "For the Healing of the
World." It is being hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
(ELCIC).

There are almost 700 men, women and youth participants in the Tenth Assemly
including 356 delegates from the 133 churches with full membership and three
associate members. The Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the
LWF, and meets normally every six years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is
governed by its Council that meets annually, and by its Executive Committee.

Further information including photos, video and audio news, is posted on the
Assembly Web site www.lwf-assembly.org 

To order photographs, please contact LWF-Photo@lutheranworld.org 

*	*	*

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 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 and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission
and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.