LWI News in Brief No. 06/2006
+ Netherlands: New Evangelical Lutheran Web site Online + LWF Publication on Diaconal Ministry + ELCA Membership Dropped 1.6 Percent to 4.85 Million in 2005 + First Meeting of Lutheran-Reformed Joint Commission + LWF Annual Report 2005 Is Now Available + LWF Mission Document Published in French, German and Spanish
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Netherlands: New Evangelical Lutheran Web site Online
A new Evangelical Lutheran Web site www.evangelisch-luthers.nl is online in the Netherlands. The initiative was taken in mid-June by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN) in order to keep the Lutheran tradition alive in the PCN.
The Web site provides information about the PCN, and news and views from Lutheran congregations in Dutch. Some of the background information is provided in English.
The PCN is the result of a May 2004 merger between three churches of the Reformation in the Netherlands: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.
Around 15,000 of the 2.5 million PCN members are Lutherans, and an advisory Lutheran synod was retained after the union. Rev. Ilona Fritz is president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. (145 words)
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LWF Publication on Diaconal Ministry
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Theology and Studies has published a new book titled, "The Diaconal Ministry in the Mission of the Church." The 108-page publication includes the main presentations at an LWF global consultation on the diaconal ministry in the Lutheran churches, held in November 2005, in Sao Leopoldo, Brazil. The book includes the consultationâs final statement, in which the representatives of LWF member churches from all over the world, request the LWF member churches to reexamine and reorder their ministerial structures in such a way that they reflect diakonia as a core component of the mission of the church.
Excerpts from regional reports provide insight into the different ways in which the diaconal ministry is ordered within the Lutheran communion. It is hoped that this resource will provoke further reflection and discussion within the LWF member churches. Copies can be ordered from the 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 Liesch@lutheranworld.org for CHF 12, EUR 8 or USD 10 plus postage and packaging. (190 words)
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ELCA Membership Dropped 1.6 Percent to 4.85 Million in 2005
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reports it had a baptized membership of 4.85 million in 2005, representing a decrease of about 1.62 percent from the previous yearâs figures.
The total figure in 2005 was 4,850,776 baptized members in 10,549 congregations, representing a reduction of 79,653 baptized members since 2004, according to the ELCA Secretary, Rev. Lowell G. Almen.
An ELCA news release dated 1 August said parochial reports indicated the loss was due to a decrease in the number of new members, the disbanding of 31 congregations and "roll cleaning" in many remaining congregations. Roll cleaning resulted in a loss of 208,436 members in 2005. Those reductions occur when long inactive members who indicate no interest in continued participation are removed from the rolls of congregations.
Twenty-two congregations with a combined baptized membership of 14,083 withdrew from the ELCA in 2005. One congregation with membership of 111 was removed.
An increase in ELCA membership last occurred in 1991, with a net gain of 4,438 baptized members that year. The decrease in ELCA membership reflects a pattern reported by many church bodies in the United States of America during this period, Almen said.
The ELCA was formally established in 1988, resulting from a union of three North American Lutheran church bodies. It joined the LWF the same year. (229 words) A tablww.elca.org/news/table.html on the ELCA Web site. (ELCA News Service)
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First Meeting of Lutheran-Reformed Joint Commission
The first meeting of the Lutheran-Reformed Joint Commission took place from 1 to 7 July 2006 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, hosted by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). Co-sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and WARC, the Commission discussed reports on the current structures and practices of Lutheran-Reformed relations from regional perspectives. The Commission is, among other things, responsible for a study project on structures of church communion, reflecting on the diversity and complementarity of ecclesiological approaches within the two confessional families as they move toward new forms of communion.
At its next meeting to be hosted by the LWF in August 2007, the Commission will consider the different understandings of confessions, their role and authority in the life of the churches and ecumenically. The LWF and WARC have been in formal dialogue since the early 1980s.
More information is available at: www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OEA/Bila teral_Relations/OEA-Lutheran-Reformed.html (153 words)
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LWF Annual Report 2005 Is Now Available
The 2005 Annual Report of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is now available. Its contents reflect the spirit and accomplishments of the worldwide Lutheran communion, activities in the Geneva Secretariat, World Service work in 34 countries, and hundreds of programs and projects in the member churches.
The specialized activities and cross-cutting themes in the 32-page, full color publication range from rethinking ecumenical relations, theology in the life of the churches, prophetic diakonia, and advocacy for justice, to gender mainstreaming. Also included is focus on community-based sustainable development, breaking the silence surrounding HIV and AIDS, and developing an LWF action plan for water.
Copies of the report can be ordered from the LWF Office for Communication Services, 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 jbn@lutheranworld.org
The report is available in PDF version on the LWF Web site at: www.lutheran world.org/LWF_Documents/LWF-Annual_Report_2005-low.pdf (158 words)
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LWF Mission Document Published in French, German and Spanish
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) document titled "Mission in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment-An LWF Contribution to the Understanding and Practice of Mission," is now available in French, German and Spanish.
The title produced by the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD) was first published in December 2004 in English.
It builds on the foundations of the 1988 LWF mission document, "Together in God's Mission: An LWF Contribution to the Understanding of Mission," and aims to stimulate self-analysis and reaffirmation of mission in context among the LWF member churches and other bodies.
The contents of the publication emphasize among other aspects, the church as not only missionary but as a witnessing, nurturing, messenger that serves and heals community. The document draws parallels between Godâs mission and the churchâs participation in it through three dimensions: mission of the creator (transformation); redeemer (reconciliation); and sanctifier (empowerment).
The PDF versions are downloadable from the LWF Web site at www.lutheranworl d.org/LWF_Documents/DMD-Mission-low-F.pdf for the French; German at www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/DMD-Mission-low-D.pdf; Spanish at www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/DMD-Mission-low-S.pdf and www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/DMD-Mission-in-Context-low.pdf for the English.
Printed copies can be ordered from: The Lutheran World Federation, Department for Mission and Development, 150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland. Tel. +41 22 791 6111, Fax +41/22-791 6401, E-mail sni@lutheranworld.org (216communion 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 LWFâs 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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