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US Lutherans discuss need for unity with ecumenical leaders

>For immediate release: 17 February 2010

"The prayer of Jesus that his disciples may be one so that the
world may
believe (John 17:21) takes on new urgency in view of the
challenges
peoples and churches are facing today", said the World Council
of Churches
(WCC) general secretary, the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, in
welcoming a
delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA).

Tveit was one of three general secretaries of world ecumenical
organizations who met with the ELCA group of clergy and lay
leaders in
Geneva, Switzerland, on 15-16 February, providing perspectives
on their
work and how it interacts with the ELCA's ecumenical vision.

The 12-member ELCA delegation just concluded a two-week "2010
Ecumenical
Journey" led by the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop
and
president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). The group
visited Anglican, Eastern
Orthodox and Roman Catholic world leaders. The ELCA is a
founding member
of the WCC.

Tveit told the ELCA delegation that Jesus' prayer for unity "is
not only a
word of information, but it is a word of transformation. That is
what we
do here – you're not only here to be informed, but you're here
to make a
difference."

Among the current challenges that need to be taken on by the
ecumenical
movement, Tveit mentioned the consequences of the financial
crisis, full
participation of the younger generation, relationships with
Evangelicals
and Pentecostal and charismatic churches, inter-religious
dialogue and
co-operation, and the environmental crisis.

Concentrating on the "unique added values of the WCC," Tveit
said: "I think
the ecumenical movement must be much clearer in that it is a
movement that
carries the cross. We are called to 'be one' even when this
cross is a
very heavy one to carry."

The ELCA delegation also met with the Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, LWF
general
secretary, who spoke about the LWF preparations for its 11th
Assembly,
20-27 July, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Noko characterized the assembly as a "landmark" and a "turning
point"
because of expected ecumenical actions to be taken and
consideration of
the LWF Renewal Report. Among them is a statement of
reconciliation with
churches of the Anabaptist family, whose violent persecution
was
theologically supported by Lutheran reformers.

The ELCA delegation met with the Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, general
secretary,
World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) which is bound to
become the World Communion of Reformed
Churches, representing more than 80 million Reformed Christians
worldwide,
after its merger with the Reformed Ecumenical Council in June.

Nyomi told the ELCA delegation that the churches of WARC are
"your other
cousins." He added that the 500th anniversary of the Reformation
in 2017
is an occasion that will be commemorated by Reformed churches
throughout
the world, as well as by Lutherans. "It bears Luther's name, but
it is our
common identity," he said.

The ELCA delegation also met representatives of the ACT Alliance
and the Anglican Communion, and visited WCC's Ecumenical
Institute in Bossey, near Geneva.

More information about the visit on the ELCA website: 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1931&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=-6

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349
Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560
million
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with
the Roman
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse
Tveit,
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland.