wfn.org | LWI 2008-036 Communion Belonging Is Crucial for Small Churches, Says Argentine Church Leader

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Communion Belonging Is Crucial for Small Churches, Says
Argentine Church Leader
Emphasis on Regional and Global Cooperation
GENEVA, 19 June 2008 (LWI) - "If the worldwide Lutheran
communion is doing well the local congregations flourish," stated
Rev. Alan Eldrid, president of the United Evangelical Lutheran
Church (IELU) in Argentina and Uruguay, during a 28 May visit to
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Geneva secretariat.

In an interview with Lutheran World Information (LWI) Eldrid
said belonging to the worldwide communion of LWF members, was
particularly important for small churches like the IELU.

He underlined the holistic understanding of the communion of
Lutheran Christians, saying he welcomed the changed understanding
of the Lutheran communion as reflected in its expanded name: "The
Lutheran World Federation - A Communion of Churches," affirmed at
the 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. That makes it clear
that all Lutherans are on the road together and accompanying one
another.

"We should understand ourselves as a church, as a community at
one table. The table of sacraments, sharing, discussions-the
table at which we sit together with room for everyone," noted
Eldrid. He said a holistic understanding of the Lutheran
communion would also lead to a change in the understanding of
diakonia. It is about being "supporters and no longer
coordinators. … People in need should receive assistance but as a
process of helping them to help themselves, so that they can use
their knowledge first for themselves and then assist others."
AIDS Response
"We benefit greatly from cooperation with the LWF, especially in
the AIDS response campaign," said Eldrid, citing a program
started back in 1986 by Argentine pastor Lisandro Orlov, with
visits to people living with HIV. "The program has kept growing
and it is helping to change the church," he said of the
initiative that promotes theological reflection, particularly on
open-mindedness toward others, and advocates against
discrimination.

Eldrid, who was recently re-elected for another four-year term,
also spoke of the illegitimate debt advocacy program of the Latin
American LWF member churches, begun in 2004, with support from
the Department for Mission and Development, and coordination at
local level. Although it is still a young initiative, "we have
already achieved quite a lot. With time it will blossom and
flourish even more," he said of the churches' efforts to increase
awareness about foreign debt illegitimacy at different church
levels in developing and industrialized countries.

On 2 November the 11,000-member IELU will mark the centenary of
Lutheran mission in Spanish language in the country. "We are
thrilled about the mission centenary. Mission in Spanish began
surprisingly early and was unique at the time," noted Eldrid,
saying the celebrations will culminate in a public presentation
of the diaries and letters of American missionary Silas David
Daugherty, documenting the 1908 beginning of mission in the
Argentina.

The first Lutherans arrived in Argentina from northern Europe in
the second half of the 19th century. Lutheran communities were
gradually formed, worshipping in their respective local
languages, which eventually led to a paradigm shift in the
congregational life of Spanish-speaking mission: worship was
conducted in the national language and the first Spanish-speaking
congregations were founded. "The feeling of togetherness among
Lutheran Christians in Argentina was further enhanced through the
national language services," said the IELU president .

He expressed the hope that in the future "the feeling of being
together [and] belonging to a network will be further
strengthened, so that all Lutheran Christians will feel at home
in the local churches and in the worldwide communion."

The IELU became an independent national church in 1948, and
joined the LWF in 1951. (597 words)

(The interview with President Eldrid was conducted by Claudia
Schubert of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover. She is
doing her assistant pastor placement in the LWF Office for
Communication Services as part of the study-abroad program of the
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.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF’s information
service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not
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