wfn.org | LWI Council UPDATE: LWF Leaders Speak of Optimism for a Strengthened Lutheran Communion

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

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION  
>LWI News online:
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LWF Leaders Speak of Optimism for a Strengthened Lutheran
Communion 
Council Actions Affirm Call to Reconciliation in a Polarized
World

GENEVA, 30 October 2009 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) Council concluded its 22-27 October meeting with optimism
for a strengthened communion, showing that potentially dividing
issues could be resolved by reconciliation and not
fragmentation.

This was how LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson described the
outcome of the six-day meeting during which the Council elected
the next LWF general secretary; adopted a statement on
reconciliation with the Mennonites for further action by the
Eleventh Assembly; and agreed to continue reflection on marriage,
family and human sexuality issues, including discussion at
pre-Assembly gatherings. The LWF governing body agreed input to
recommendations on the LWF renewal process, to be adopted at the
July 2010 Assembly; and adopted the assembly agenda including
rules of procedure and a song for the gathering.

'"Asking for forgiveness from the Mennonites demonstrates the
communion's willingness to seek the truth for the sake of
reconciliation," Hanson said at the Council’s closing press
conference. "In a polarized world that is what we, as a
communion, are called to do," he added, during the press
conference, which he addressed jointly with LWF General Secretary
Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. 

The Council adopted a statement in which the LWF expresses
publicly its deep regret and sorrow over the persecution of
Anabaptists by Lutheran authorities and especially over the fact
that Lutheran reformers theologically supported this persecution.
The LWF governing body also received the report "Healing of
Memories: Reconciling in Christ," from the Lutheran-Mennonite
International Study Commission. 

Noko pointed out that "in the awakening of modern time
ecumenism, we are beginning to realize we need to relate to
people of other faiths, which also makes us look at our own home
and start breaking walls that have distorted our image."

The general secretary noted that the continuing movement of
populations also had an impact on how people viewed others.
"Because of migration, Lutherans all over the world came to learn
of the persecutions of Mennonites," said Noko. He noted that in
today's context "in joint humanitarian work at ecumenical level,
we work closely with the Mennonites in ways we would never have
done before." 

Noko said other Council actions such as the adoption of the
report of the Assembly Planning Committee, action on justice for
Dalits and human trafficking, on climate change and on peace in
Israel/Palestine, affirm the strength of the communion in dealing
with crucial issues. 

The general secretary pointed out that further steps were
required to ensure more fairness and inclusiveness in gender and
age balance in the LWF. He emphasized the need for more active
participation of youth members in shaping the Lutheran communion
"that they are going to lead in future."

"Upholding Human Dignity: Confronting Human Trafficking" was the
theme of the 2009 Council meeting, attended by 165 participants
including representatives from LWF member churches and partner
organizations. It was held at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva,
Switzerland, hosted by the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran
Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. 

The 49-member Council is the LWF governing body, meeting every
12-18 months between Assemblies held normally 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. (563 words)

More information about actions taken at the 2009 LWF Council
meeting is available on the LWF Web site at:
www.lutheranworld.org/Council/2009/2009-Council_Actions.html 

>*      *      *

(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 68.9 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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