LWI News in Brief No. 03/2006
- LWF Studies' Department Launches Internet Forum on Theology in the Church - LWF Asia Regional Office Relocates to Singapore - New Christian Council of Norway to Include All Major Churches - Rudelmar Bueno de Faria Is New DWS Program Coordinator - Theologian Sorensen Heads Danish Church Council on International Relations - Hans-Joerg Voigt Elected SELK Bishop
LWF Studies' Department Launches Internet Forum on Theology in the Church
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and Studies (DTS) has launched a new Internet-based discussion forum for its "Theology in the Life of the Church" global initiative. Started on 4 April, www.luthersem.edu/lwfdiscuss provides initial papers and a discussion forum, where one can sign up at no cost, read what has been posted or participate in the forthcoming discussions.
The current focus is "Confessing and living out faith in the triune God" in the face of - death and injustice (track 1) - multi-faith challenges (track 2) - charismatic and Pentecostal challenges (track 3) - moral differences that threaten church unity (track 4).
A basic premise is that theology can and does make a difference in the life of the church worldwide. Through this forum, DTS aims to bring together theologians from the different parts of the world to share mutually from their diverse backgrounds, contexts and approaches, insights on theological writing that can contribute in significant ways to deepening the self-understanding of the life and practices of churches globally. The Web-based interaction will allow its users to exchange information and ideas, support and mutually challenge one another on the focus subjects.
For further information, please contact:
Rev. Dr Karen Bloomquist, Director, LWF Department for Theology and Studies, 150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, Tel. +41/22-791 6111, Fax +41/22-791 6630, E-mail kbl@lutheranworld.org (240 words)
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LWF Asia Regional Office Relocates to Singapore
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Regional Office for Asia (ROAS) has relocated from Thailand to Singapore. Effective 1 March 2006, ROAS is situated at the headquarters of the Lutheran Church in Singapore.
Ms Sally Lim Kee, regional coordinator since the office was established nearly six years ago, continues in her current position. The role of ROAS is to coordinate and facilitate the regional activities and events of the 47 LWF member churches in the region. Among other tasks, the regional coordinator maintains close cooperation and information sharing among the member churches and ecumenical organizations through the bi-monthly "Asia Lutheran News (ALN)." (107 words)
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New Christian Council of Norway to Include All Major Churches
Two church groupings in Norway have agreed to form a national body that will include all the major churches in the country. The new body will be formally inaugurated on 1 September 2006. It will include all the major Christian denominations - Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Orthodox, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic.
The impending merger was agreed at separate meetings of the Christian Council of Norway (CCN) and the Norwegian Free Church Council on 30 March.
Established in 1992 as a national council of churches with a broad ecumenical agenda, the CCN groups all major denominations except the Pentecostal movement. The Council of Free Churches was founded in 1903 as an instrument for the free churches to promote their religious rights in a country where the (Lutheran) Church of Norway was a state church.
The willingness of representatives of the Pentecostal movement to work together with the Catholic Church is seen as a key element in the founding of the new church body.
The two church groupings that are merging have shared offices at Oslo's Church House since 2000. (186 words)
(Ecumenical News International)
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Rudelmar Bueno de Faria Is New DWS Program Coordinator
Effective 1 April 2006, Mr Rudelmar Bueno de Faria is the new program coordinator in the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS). Until his March 2006 appointment by the LWF Executive Committee, De Faria, 43, had served as the department's program officer for sustainable development and the environment since September 2003.
His current appointment is for an initial period of four years. He succeeds Mr John Damerell who was in this position from 2000 until the end of 2005.
De Faria studied commerce and business administration, and pursued post-graduate studies in church social work at the Lutheran biblical and diaconal college in Sao Leopoldo. He worked with the development office of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil, and later joined the LWFDWS program in El Salvador as the country representative.
De Faria is married, and has two daughters. (152 words)
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Theologian Sorensen Heads Danish Church Council on International Relations
Theologian, Dr Jorgen Skov Sorensen is the new general secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark (ELCD) Council on International Relations.
Sorensen has been in his new position since 1 April 2006. He succeeds Ms Kirsten Auken, acting general secretary after the death of Rev. Ane Hjerrild in July 2005. Hjerrild had served as the council's general secretary since 1990.
Born in 1964, Sorensen has been assistant professor at the Center for Multireligious Studies, University of Aarhus, Denmark since 2005. He is chairperson of the Council of Areopagos, a Scandinavian and Asian-based foundation supporting theological studies and interreligious dialogue.
Sorensen holds a doctorate in missiology and ecumenical studies from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He earned his bachelor and master of theology degrees from the University of Aarhus, Denmark.
He worked at the Danish Missionary Society (now Danmission), 1994 to 1999, with responsibility for the organization's work in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Since 2002, he has held various positions at the University of Aarhus Multireligious studies' center, including research assistant, development officer and part-time lecturer.
Dr Jorgen Skov Sorensen and his wife, Ann Elisabeth Skov Sørensen, have three children.
The ELCD Council on International Relations is responsible for the relations of the Danish Lutheran church with other Christian churches and organizations at national and international level. (230 words)
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Hans-Joerg Voigt Elected SELK Bishop
Delegates to the electoral synod of Germany's Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK) appointed Rev. Hans-Joerg Voigt as the new bishop of the 37,000-member confessional Lutheran church. During the second round of voting, the 43 year-old theologian received 42 votes against 40 cast for Rev. Hinrich Mueller (Cottbus, Germany).
Voigt's term of office is 12 years. He will be installed on 24 June in Hanover, Germany, succeeding incumbent SELK Bishop Dr Diethardt Roth, who will be retiring.
After his studies and practical training, Voigt worked as a trainee pastor in the Greifswald district (Germany), the same region where he was installed as a pastor in 1993. From 2000 until 2003, he was church superintendent for the Berlin-Brandenburg district before taking up responsibility for the training of assistant pastors at SELK's theological seminary.
Rev. Hans-Joerg Voigt and his wife have four children. (143 words)
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith 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 LWF's information service. 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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