wfn.org | LWI 2008-035 Internet Visibility of World Lutheran Communion Addressed at LWF Roundtable

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Internet Visibility of World Lutheran Communion Addressed at LWF
Roundtable 
‘Spider Webs’, Networks and a Blooming Garden Proposals for
a New LWF Web Site 

GENEVA, 20 June 2008 (LWI) – "The African spider builds webs
and is always in the center of the web. But the African spider
depends only on itself. Human beings can never stand alone. They
need to build bridges between one another against isolation,"
said Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) at a mid-May communication conference in
Geneva. 

The LWF Office for Communication Services (OCS) hosted the 19 -
22 May round table that focused on the creation of a new LWF
Internet site. The more than 45 participants represented LWF
member churches, partner organizations and regional networks, as
well as LWF staff persons and representatives of international
organizations with offices located in Geneva’s Ecumenical
Center. Discussions revolved around ways in which a holistic
understanding of communion could be reflected on an Internet
site. 

OCS director, Ms Karin Achtelstetter emphasized implications of
a new Web presence, which expressed the new understanding of
communion: "If we take the LWF's self-understanding as a
communion of churches seriously, the online presence of the
Lutheran communion needs to be an authentic expression of this
self-understanding."

Moreover, according to Rev. Dr Hans-Peter Grosshans, DTS Study
Secretary for Theology, "In the Lutheran understanding 'communio'
is mainly realized in the coming together of people who share
their faith and lives." He spoke of his conviction that a modern
Internet presence can foster fellowship among all Lutherans
throughout the world and would highlight "the diversity of
individuals and their contribution to the richness of the
communal life of the Christian community."

Rev. Dr Kjell Nordstokke, Director of the LWF Department for
Mission and Development (DMD) stressed the need to prioritize
"building up mutual relations of unity and witness as a communion
of Lutheran churches, with ecumenical commitment." This would
ensure that all Lutherans everywhere feel they are part of a
global community. 

During the four-day event, participants on the basis of
presentations, best practice examples and working groups,
examined various scenarios for an enhanced Internet presence of
both the LWF and global Lutheran communion. 

>Audience Identification

With regard to the official LWF Internet site, the participants
called for the development of a more user-friendly site, more
focused on its real audience, using a content management system
(CMS). 

In order to embody the holistic understanding of a world
communion of churches in an Internet site, the participants
suggested that the current Web pages of Lutheran churches and
institutions be linked via a special Web site, using the metaphor
of a garden. 

Commenting on this choice, Ms Daranne Harris, director of
Communications and Education at Canadian Lutheran World Relief
(CLWR) said, "The image of a garden helps us to understand that
all Lutherans can contribute to the new Internet presence of the
LWF, moreover that we are part of it together." 

Internet specialist Bjoern Ericsson from the Church of Sweden
said the primary concern was to improve information
dissemination, adding, "I think that there is good potential to
improve possibilities to share information, for example on
discussion forums and blogs which would make the Internet
presence more interactive." 

LWF/DMD youth intern, Mr Cheong Mun Chan from Hong Kong stressed
the importance of providing young people greater opportunities to
participate in discussions on LWF topics interactively,
especially those currently involved in DMD-sponsored
internships.

Mr Dirk-Michael Groetzsch, head of the LWF/OCS "Visibility"
team, which is in charge of developing the new LWF Web site,
expressed his deep satisfaction with the wealth of proposals made
by the participants. These proposals will be rapidly integrated
into a development plan to relaunch the LWF Web site. The concept
of a world Lutheran communion Web page in a "Lutheran garden"
configuration will be presented to the Program Committee for
Communication Services for discussion at the June 2008 LWF
Council meeting in Arusha, Tanzania. (657 words)

(The author, Claudia Schubert from the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Hanover, is doing a pastoral training internship at the
LWF Office for Communication Services, under the aegis of
Evangelical Church in Germany.)

>*       *       *

(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 over 68.3 million. 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.)

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