wfn.org | LWI Council Press Release No. 12/2009 Evangelical Church in Central Germany Joins LWF

["LWFNews" <LWFNews@lutheranworld.org>]

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION  
>LWI News online:
>http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

>LWI Council Press Release No. 12/2009

Evangelical Church in Central Germany Joins LWF 
Lutheran World Federation Membership Remains at 140

GENEVA, 27 October 2009 (LWI) – The Council of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) extended full LWF membership to the
Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM). The EKM came into
existence in January 2009 as the result of a merger between the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia (ELKT) and the
Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony, becoming the
legal successor to both churches.

The EKM has around 910,000 members. The number of LWF member
churches remains unchanged at 140 churches in 79 countries.
However, the membership figure goes up by just under 480,000 to a
total of 68.94 million.

The Council endorsed the new church on 26 October upon a
recommendation from the Standing Committee for Membership, whose
report was presented by committee chairperson Rev. Claudia
Schreiber of the Church of Lippe (Lutheran Section), Germany.

The ELKT, a United church, joined the LWF in 1947. In 1817, King
Frederick William III of Prussia decreed the merger of the
Lutheran and Reformed congregations in his territory, giving rise
to the United churches.

"We are glad to become members of the LWF and intend to remain
so," LWF Council member Thomas Jensch, a youth representative
from the ELKT told Lutheran World Information (LWI). According to
the LWF Bylaws, if a merger takes place involving one or more
member churches and one or more non-member Lutheran churches, it
is sufficient that the new church declares that it wishes to
belong to the Federation. 

The two churches had been moving closer together for ten years.
In 2007, their synods took the decision to merge, which became
effective on 1 January 2009.

Bishop Ilse Junkermann was elected as the first EKM regional
bishop in March 2009. The bishop's seat is in Magdeburg and the
church office in Erfurt. The EKM's territory hosts some of the
most significant memorial sites of the Reformation such as the
Luther town of Wittenberg, the Luther town of Eisleben, Mansfeld,
Wartburg Castle in Eisenach and the Augustinian Monastery in
Erfurt. (345 words

More information on the 2009 LWF Council meeting is available on
the LWF Web site at: www.lutheranworld.org

>*      *      *

Around 75 representatives from LWF member churches and partner
organizations are attending this year's Council meeting at
Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva, Switzerland. An additional 90
registered participants include invited guests, stewards,
interpreters and translators, media persons and LWF staff. 

The 49-member Council is the LWF's governing body, meeting every
12-18 months between Assemblies held every six years. The current
Council was appointed at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in
Winnipeg, Canada. It comprises the President, Treasurer as well
as lay and ordained persons, representing the different LWF
regions. 

The Council host church, the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran
Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein has
6,818 members, and has been an LWF member church since 1979. It
is headed by Ms Dagmar Magold.

>For media related queries, please contact:

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION 
>Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69 
>Fax: +41/22-791 66 30 
>Editor’s E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org 

At Hotel Chavannes de Bogis, Tel. +41/22-960 81 81
Mobile Tel. +41/76 396 2863

>*      *      *

(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 79 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of 68.94 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
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.]