Title: Lutheran World Federation 60th Anniversary Celebrations on Web March 25 ELCA NEWS SERVICE
March 23, 2007
Lutheran World Federation 60th Anniversary Celebrations on Web March 25 07-40-LWI*/JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) - A live transmission of the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Lund, Sweden, will be available on the Internet. The celebrations begin with a festive Eucharistic service at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) March 25 in the Lund Cathedral and continue in the afternoon at the campus of the Lund University, where the LWF was founded in 1947. A live Web streaming and later video streaming of the events will be made available.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. The LWF has 140 member churches in 78 countries throughout the world, representing nearly 66.7 million Christians.
Karin Achtelstetter, director, LWF Office for Communication Services, said the live transmission offers people among the 140 LWF member churches an opportunity to participate in the festive anniversary celebrations.
"There are nearly 66.7 million Christians in the worldwide communion of LWF churches. Making it possible for them to follow an important event like the LWF's 60th anniversary celebrations is a way of living out communion," she said.
An estimated 500 people are attending the LWF events, including more than 100 church leaders participating in the Church Leadership Consultation and the anniversary celebrations taking place in conjunction with the regular LWF Council meeting.
The Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, emphasized the significance of a symbolic ceremony at the March 25 festivities, during which the leadership from the elders who were present 60 years ago in Lund will be passed on to the youth representatives at the council events. This will be an important ritual in recognizing the role of the young generation in the leadership of the Lutheran communion, he said.
A multi-media presentation on the LWF Web site -- http://www.lutheranworld.org/Welcome.EN.html -- includes discussions from the church leadership consultation and council meeting in Lund. Also available are news releases in English and German, photos, audio and video feature articles, as well as links to the live streaming and on-demand video at http://www.lutheranworld.org/Council/2007/Council-Video-Streaming- EN.html on the Web.
On March 24, former Finnish President and United Nations special envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, will address the participants on the "House of Europe." The March 24 afternoon plenary session will be video streamed on the LWF Web site.
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*This report on the LWF Council meeting was supplied by Lutheran World Information, Geneva.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news